Innocent Heart
by Stella Rose-chan
Summary: To the Noah Family, she was known as the 'Noah of Creation.' Now, she is an Exorcist at the Black Order known as the 'Creator of Earth.' Which side does she really belong to and which one will she choose in the end? "You were never supposed to be one of them." LavixOC *DISCONTINUED*
1. The Path of an Exorcist

**Stella: Hey everyone! For those of you that have already been reading my story, here is chapter 1 revised! For anyone that's new, well, here's chapter 1 of my LavixOC dgm fanfic, Innocent Heart! I decided to revise it because I could've done way better. I started this when I first made this account...which was in April! xD**

**Rose: Chapter 1 redo! I _do _like this one better, Stella-chan.**

**Stella: Thank you. n_n Well, ummm...I changed a few things... I took out that Rose had an older brother. :P But I made it so the other chapters would make more sense. I hate that I made this one so short. The original one wasn't even 1000 words. Well, enough of my ranting! Enjoy this chapter! :D**

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My eyes fluttered open. My head was aching in pain. How long have I been here? Where was I anyway? The last thing I remembered was collapsing on the ground after I was forced to kill dad. How long has it been since then?

* * *

For the most part, I just thought of myself as a normal girl. I never imagined this kind of thing would happen to me. The only semi-different thing about me was that my dad…was an Exorcist. But it looked as if his time was running up…

~...~

This had to be the worst birthday. _Ever. _Dad promised he'd get better before I turned sixteen, but of course he was only being optimistic. And now he's gone. It felt like I was drowning in my tears, but that wasn't the worst part...

"Mom, stop! Don't say his name!" I yelled at my mom desperately, but I was too far to reach her.

"Rosalie, I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I…I just can't live without him. A life without him isn't a life at all...I love you, Rose. Promise me you'll keep on smiling."

"No, mom." I was trying to choke back my tears, "Dad wouldn't want this, please…."

But it was too late. Right there, in my very home stood the Millennium Earl. His smile grew bigger and we both heard mom scream out my dad's name. Then, to my horror, my dad's soul came back, but in the form of an akuma, a demon. Didn't she know what would happen? Did she really love dad so much to bring him back? To make him suffer?

"Now, I order you. Kill your wife and wear her body as your new skin." The Millennium Earl demanded mercilessly to my dad and I watched in horror as my mom was murdered. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. The Millennium Earl pointed at me and ordered dad to kill me, too.

I couldn't process any of this. It seemed unreal. My dad always told me about akuma and how they were created into weapons by the Millennium Earl to kill humans. And the only ones that can kill akuma were Exorcists. Dad was an Exorcist and he could easily fight them off but…

But now, he _was _an akuma. One headed towards me. I stood up and started running away. It was like those scary movies. The person chasing the victim would walk the whole time, but always managed to stay closely behind as if they were running. When I got out of my house, he transformed into an ugly, gray monster.

Dad started shooting these purple bullets out, but I was just barely able to dodge them. I knew a little bit of self-defense thanks to dad, but I never thought I'd be using them in a situation like this. It felt like there was no hope left as I watched the people around me turn into dust. All because of dad. Actually, all because of _mom._

Around me, bits of rocks and dirt flew around, but I just stood there motionless. What could I do, anyway? I wasn't an Exorcist. I wouldn't be able to help anyone.

"Get up." I heard a voice, but I didn't bother to look to see who it was. Instead up telling me to get up again, he pulled me up hastily by my arm. I slowly turned to him with my tear soaked eyes. It was a man, probably around thirty or so, with long red hair and half a mask. He was definitely older than me, but he was handsome nonetheless. My eyes lingered on to his uniform though, over the Rose Cross; the emblem of the Black Order. I only knew because I've seen dad where the same uniform, but without the gold outlining that the redheaded man had. The gold meant he was a general.

"Your mother is dead and your father is now an akuma. You need to accept the truth and face your fears. You need to put an end to the destruction that akuma is causing." He said seriously and looked at me with hard eyes.

"But…how? I don't have the power to do that. I'm not an Exorcist…" I replied weakly.

He smirked. "Believe me, I know an Exorcist when I see one. And you're one of a kind...literally."

I shifted my weight uncomfortably, "What are you talking about? I'm not an Exorcist. I can't do anything to help!" I paused and took in the devastation. "What about you? You're a general, right? Aren't you supposed to defeat that…that…" I couldn't bring myself to say that word, now that it applied to my own father.

The man opened up a small, brown wooden box. Inside was a pair of….

"Gloves?" I asked, a little bit confused. I touched them and I felt this sort of _shock_, but it wasn't a painful shock or anything. It felt…welcoming. As I put my hands around it, the cool jet-black metal felt warm and inviting under my touch.

"They're _bracers._ More specifically, they're called 'Hands of the Earth.'It's a…special type of anti-akuma weapon. Maybe one of the first ever made." He stated matter-of-factly. "Anyways, so far no one's been able to control it, let alone put them on since they were first created."

"A-and…what makes you think I can use it?" I asked him uneasily.

"For one thing, they're not shocking the hell out of you. It was a pain in the ass to get in the box." He mumbled. "And I don't _think _you can use it, because I _know _you can."

I looked at him unsurely, waiting for an explanation. Out of nowhere, he took out a cigarette and lit it up as if this was a regular thing for him, which it probably was. I stared at the bracers inside the wooden box questionably. Only chosen wielders of Innocence could fight akuma. And as far as I knew, I wasn't a chosen wielder.

He noticed me gawking at him and sighed again, "Look. I can't explain much, but this is how it's supposed to be. You're an accommodator for Innocence and you have been for a long time."

"No, that's impossible. I can't – "

"And you're going to be an Exorcist for the Black Order whether you like it or not. I knew your dad, kid. He set this path for you. You don't have to believe it, but it's true."

I shook my head. "No, I…I…" I took a deep breath. "A path is something you choose for yourself. Whether it's you or my dad or whoever else, _I _choose my own path!"

The man smiled slightly. "You remind me of my idiot apprentice. It's a little annoying." He chuckled. "But we don't have time to talk all day. Now put those on."

I took a deep breath and took them out of the box. If what he said was true, then I would be able to defeat that…akuma. Did I want to, though? Did I want to become an Exorcist? Was my path…really set out for me?

I slipped them on. It gave me a sort of tingling feeling, but it was a perfect fit. They slid on like gloves, although it didn't have any finger holes. It was pure black, but had white lining around the wrist area. The bottom stopped halfway between my elbow and wrist and the top made a point that almost reached my elbow. For some reason, in that instant, I knew what to do.

"I…think I understand now." I told the redheaded man. He smiled at me and left without a word.

I ran up to dad. No, the _akuma. _I raised my arms up and the earth beneath my feet reacted and raised itself up too. Then, there was an explosion and I was knocked off my feet and I hit my head. I felt something warm drip down my face. But I knew…I knew that I saved dad.

"I'm choosing my own path…the path of an Exorcist." I told myself softly. Even though that man said dad supposedly chose it for me, I also could've chose to walk away from it, but I didn't. This was my own decision. If I knew I could save people, then I'd gladly choose this path.

I let out a soft sigh and then everything went black.

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**Stella: I hope everyone liked it! Lavi won't really be in it till chapter 4. Allen is in the next one though! :)**

**Rose: Who's Lavi?**

**Lavi: That would be me! :D**

**Stella: Lavi! You're not supposed to be here yet! -_-**

**Lavi: *walks away sadly...***

**Rose: Hmm...**

**Stella: I've realized how cliche it is in animes where the parents die. This is no exception... xP *gets shot* I'm sorry Rosie-chan! DX Well...anyways, please review! :D**


	2. Adjustment

**Stella: Chapter 2 revised! Wow...I wrote so much...**

**Rose: You're right, this one is defintely longer!**

**Stella: Now off to redo chapter 3 and 4 and 5... xPP**

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I opened my eyes and immediately jumped up. I regretted it though, as my head started throbbing from the pain. I looked at my unfamiliar surroundings. It was a bright room and there were multiple beds all around. It seemed like a hospital wing or something of that sort. So, was everything that happened back at home…true?

"Ahh..." I winced and rubbed my head gently. I noticed there were bandages around it and I decided not to mess with it. I slowly ran my hands through my hair, just to check if it was there. I sighed in relief as I felt the familiar, curly locks. Although, it looked as if it was cut a few inches and now it was only an inch or two past my chest. I noticed that some red was mixed in with the dark brown hair and I sniffed it and inhaled a familiar scent of iron. There was a small bucket of water beside the bed which had a cloth hanging with red stains on it.

"Careful there." I turned my head, _slowly_, to the voice that just spoke. It was a man, probably about thirty or so. He looked different than the red haired man. Maybe he seemed more…serious? I'm guessing he was probably Chinese and he had dark eyes and long dark hair. He had a white coat with a matching white beret that kind of clashed with the serious look he was giving me. The coat he had on had the Rose Cross. So that only meant one thing.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly .

"I'm Komui Lee, section leader of the science division and chief officer at the Black Order, which is where we're at now." He replied in a calm tone.

"The Black Order…I guess that seems right. How long have I been here?"

"You've been unconscious for about three days."

"T-three days?" I exclaimed and shifted my weight so I could get off the bed. "What's going to happen to me now? My…my home and my parents – " I stopped short, recalling the memories from a few days ago. Mom and dad weren't the only ones that died that day. Other people I cared about had their lives taken away from them.

Komui gazed at me as if he was trying to figure out what I was thinking about. "I know it's sudden, but…you're an Exorcist now. You are an accommodator for Innocence and that's why you're here."

"I let people die that day…" I mumbled, more to myself than to him.

"Your people aren't mad at you, if that's what you're worried about." He informed and pushed his glasses up. "You know your town has many supporters of the Black Order, right?"

"S-supporters? My hometown?" I questioned in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yes. Well, I guess you might not have known yet. Your father was a man of secrets after all. He probably didn't want you involved until the time was necessary."

Tears gathered in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "Dad…" I smiled sadly and sighed, "How did it turn out this way?" I felt numb. Not from the pain, but from everything that's happened.

Komui put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. They say suffering brings people together. All of us have suffered a great deal of physical and mental pain, but that's what makes us stronger and closer together."

"Even you, Komui-san?"

He smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Yes. Now if you don't mind, I need to make sure these records are accurate. So a simple yes or no would do."

He shuffled his papers around and cleared his throat.

"Name, Rosalie Hinode?"

"Yes."

"Date of birth, 7th of December?

"Yes."

"Daughter of Cassian and Kaname Hinode?"

"Yes."

"And lastly, owner of the 'Hands of the Earth' anti-akuma weapon?"

I thought back for a second at what the red haired gentleman told me. "_Something tells me it belongs with you." _I stared at my hands that were wrapped with the familiar metal. I didn't even notice they were still on. It just felt _natural._

I took a deep breath. "Yes."

He finished scribbling down some notes, glancing up at me every few seconds. He seemed nice enough. I don't think my dad has ever mentioned him though, but then again, dad didn't talk about anyone else from the Order. He basically just told me what he had to do as an Exorcist. He told me he didn't mind though, because it meant saving other people. Dad wasn't able to come home much and I always thought of it as him out in the world somewhere saving lives. And now…that's what I was going to do.

"Okay, well if you'd follow me, please." Komui stated and got up.

"Um, okay."

He helped me up and we went on this elevator like machine all the way at the bottom floor. This place was way better than I imagined. Huge, dark, but strangely enough, it felt welcoming like the bracers that wrapped my arms.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you to _not_ activate your weapon during this process. Hevlaska is going to check your synchronization rate with your Innocence."

"Umm, okay I guess." I was starting to feel nervous all of a sudden. This was all happening too fast.

Komui nodded and then something huge and white and tentacle-like lifted me up and touched my forehead. I was too freaked out to even scream or move.

"8 percent…17 percent….34 percent…..52 percent…..78 percent….89 percent….92 percent…Your synchronization rate is 92 percent." Hevlaska said simply and put me back down.

"Your synchronization rate does not proceed past 92 percent. Please do not push your limit." She paused and looked at me closer. At least, it _seemed_ as if she was looking at me. "You are different from the other Exorcists."

"Different? W-what makes me so…different?" I inquired and looked up at her after she placed me back down.

"You'll find out…when the time is right, _Creator of Earth ._You are the one who will be able to reshape the world after its devastated form._"_

"_Creator of Earth? _What're you talking about?"

"Allen Walker…is the _Destroyer of Time…_the one that will be able to destroy the Earl of Millennium…" She informed me slowly and continued. "Rosalie Hinode…you are…the _Creator of Earth_…the one who will recreate the world after its devastated state."

"W-What do you mean? I…I don't understand…" This was all too much to keep up with. Who was Allen Walker? And how could I recreate the world? That seemed…impossible.

"Her synchronization rate is unusually high. What kind of Innocence does she wield? It's can't be an equipment-type but…" Komui muttered to himself, although I could hear clearly what he was saying. "Well, enough questions! Let's get you into a uniform! Thank you, Hevlaska~" Komui sang. Suddenly, I didn't feel like he was the same serious man I just met. I guess everyone has a playful side to them, too.

We went back up and entered a room with papers that were literally everywhere. I tried to not step on them, but to no avail. Inside, I met a scientist with swirly glasses named Johnny Gill. He seemed very nice and welcoming and my uneasiness settled down just a little bit.

"Let's get your measurements so we can get you a new uniform!" He was very cheerful.

"Oh…okay."

"Sorry for the mess, this is my office!" Komui pointed out and gestured to his extremely chaotic-looking office in pride.

I tried to smile, but that idea seemed so far off at the moment. I was then greeted by members of the science division. Reever Wenhamm, Jack Russell, Tup Dop and some weird thing called Number 65.

Afterwards, Johnny took my measurements. I had to take the bracers off first, and my arms felt unnaturally bare as I did. I was a little self-cautious, considering my chest wasn't that…big...at all. I mean, they weren't _tiny, _but it was really nothing to show off. I was probably a little on the small side compared to other girls my age. That was probably mom's fault though. She hardly came to up dad's shoulders. I shook my head and tried not to think about them at the moment. I made the mistake of moving my head too fast though…

"Oww…." I muttered to myself, hoping that Johnny didn't hear.

"Hmm…well you're pretty short. Shorter than the other teenagers." He stated simply after scribbling down 160cm on a piece of paper. I cocked my head to the side a bit and glanced at him. Johnny was pretty short too...

"There are other Exorcists my age?" I asked in awe. I never thought about the other Exorcists I'd meet here. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad then.

"Of course! There's Allen, he's about 168 centimeters, but it's okay because he's still young. There's Lenalee, Komui's younger sister, but she's about 166 centimeters though. And there's Lavi and Kanda who are…" He trailed off as he saw my eyes casted on him curiously.

He smiled sheepishly and laughed as he realized what he was talking about. "Hahaha, sorry about that. I'm sure you're not really interested in their heights, huh?"

I giggled a little, surprising myself. "It's fine, really. I want to hear more about them."

He nodded enthusiastically and told me about the other young Exorcists as he took the rest of my measurements. Allen Walker was fifteen and had something called a "parasitic-type" Innocence. Lenalee was my age, sixteen, and Komui's little sister and she had an "equipment-type" Innocence. Lastly, there were two other guys, Lavi and Kanda, who were eighteen and nineteen and both used equipment-type weapons.

When he finished, he asked me what kind of special features or accessories I wanted for my uniform. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted, so I told him just something casual. Before he left, he shook my hand and gave me a pat on head. He really was very nice. I hoped other people at the Order were like him.

Komui came up from behind and tapped my shoulder, "While you're waiting for your uniform, why don't you get something to eat? I'll have Lenalee show you around."

"Your little sister?"

He beamed. "Yes! My precious Lenalee! I'm sure you two will get along fine. She so adorable and she makes the best coffee and - "

"Alright, brother. Stop talking her ear off." I turned around and was face-to-face with a young Chinese lady who was strikingly beautiful. She had long, dark green hair that was pulled up in two pigtails. Her eyes were also a dark shade of purple and she was, of course, a bit taller than me. She had the warmest smile and for the first time, I _didn't _feel nervous meeting someone new around here. And of course, she had an Exorcist uniform that consisted of a dark blue, almost black, jacket and a mini skirt.

She extended her arm out towards me. "Hi, I'm Lenalee Lee. It's nice to finally meet you, Rosalie-chan! I'm really glad to see you're doing better."

Wow, beautiful _and _incredibly nice. It was kind of hard to believe she was my age. I hesitantly shook her hand and returned the smile.

"N-nice to meet you…Lenalee. You can just call me Rose."

"I'm sure you're starving. Let's go get you something to eat!" Before I could follow her, she already grabbed my arm and started dragging me along with her.

"Rosalie-chan, I…I hope you like it here." Lenalee said quietly and I walked behind her through the long corridors of the Black Order.

"U-uh, umm…yeah, me too." I finally replied, albeit a little too late.

After that, we walked in silence for a bit until we arrived to the cafeteria. It reminded me of a regular school cafeteria, maybe just a little bit smaller. She led me to this window where a cheerful-looking man with multiple braids was waiting.

"Good morning, Jeryy-san! This is Rosalie Hinode. She's our newest Exorcist!" Lenalee explained with a happy expression in her face.

The man seemed just as happy. "Well, hello darling~ Welcome to the Order. I'm the head chef and whatever you have an appetite for, you just tell me, okay?"

I nodded shyly and grinned. "Thank you, Jeryy-san."

After the introduction, he asked me what kind of food I wanted. When I told him I didn't know, he gave me another huge smile and handed me a bowl of soup and hot chocolate. Apparently he said he could sense my…depression? Nonetheless, I politely accepted the bowl of soup and hot chocolate and followed Lenalee to a table.

I noticed a lot of people inside were giving me all different kinds of glances. Most of them had tan coats on. I didn't see that many people with an Exorcist uniform Lenalee had on. I swirled my spoon around in my soup and looked down, trying to avoid the stares I was getting.

"Hey," Lenalee called out for me. "Don't be so nervous, okay? It's not everyday we get a new Exorcist."

I gave her a nervous smile. "Sorry. It's just…a little different, you know? I'm not really used to this kind of attention."

She giggled, "It's fine, Rosalie-chan. Well, now that we're here, why don't we get to know each other a little better? We will be working together from now on after all."

Before I opened my mouth to say something, a young man waved and sat down beside Lenalee with a mountain of plates. My eyes darted to his face. He looked about fifteen. He had white hair and an unusual scar on his face, but he was very well dressed and he looked polite at the very least. His left arm was a strange, dark red color with a cross on the front of his hand while his other arm looked…completely normal. I noticed some yellow looking…bat…or spider? that was whirling around him. The young teen didn't seem to see me and he started gorging his mouth with food.

Lenalee sweatdropped and tapped the youth on his shoulder. Only then when he looked up did he finally notice me. Now that I got a better look at his face, I saw that he was somewhat pale, but he was cute too. As in, adorable cute. He gulped down his bite of food and wiped his mouth.

"I'm really sorry about that." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm Allen Walker."

So, this was Allen. I guess he just wasn't wearing his uniform. But it made me feel better that I got to meet another Exorcist that was close to my age. And his arm might be what Johnny called his parasitic type Innocence.

"Rosalie Hinode, but you can call me Rose if you want." I told him and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I know." He stated politely. "You're the newest Exorcist. I hope you like it here in your new home."

I blinked a few times. "Home…?"

Lenalee gasped and Allen and I looked at her in surprise. "That's right! I wanted to ask Komui, but I figured it'd be better if I asked you first."

"What is it?" I asked her, eager to find out what she wanted to know.

"Brother told me that your town had supporters of the Black Order. Where are you from?"

"Oh." I gazed at her for a second before replying, "I'm just from the outskirts of London. Nothing too special."

"So you're from England?" Allen spluttered out after swallowing another plate of food. "I am too! I guess I should've already known though, you have the accent like me."

I grinned at him. It was nice meeting someone that was from around the same area I was. Maybe Allen and I would be able to get along.

"I'm only half-British though. My mother's from Japan." I told them proudly. I was a little surprised at myself. I was telling them all these facts about me without thinking. "She came here on a business trip or something like that and then she met my dad and….well, yeah."

Lenalee's eyes sparkled and she clapped her hands together, "That's soooo cute!"

I nodded, but then remembered the events from a few days ago. I guess the wedding vows, "Till death do us part" didn't really apply to them. I sighed softly and stared at my half eaten soup.

"Something wrong?" Allen asked from the other side of the table, his silver eyes filled with concern.

"N-no…not really." I gave him a halfhearted smile, but neither he nor Lenalee were convinced. Before any of them could say anything, Johnny came running by our table with a set of clothes in his arms.

"Rosalie…I…f-finished…." He managed to say in between taking breaths of air, "your…uniform…."

I stared at him in confusion for a few seconds. At the very most, it's only been half an hour. Could he really have finished it that fast? Needless to say, I nodded and followed him back to Komui's office with Allen and Lenalee by my side.

"Has she met Lavi or Kanda yet?" Johnny asked to the other two Exorcists.

"Believe me, she doesn't want to meet Kanda." Allen muttered angrily.

Lenalee laughed softly and shook her head, "Kanda's a great person, Allen-kun. You two just need to learn to get along." She looked at me and smiled. "Lavi and Kanda are good friends of ours, but I think they're both on missions right now. Hopefully they come back soon. It'll be great for you to meet them!"

We arrived in Komui's super messy office and Johnny ushered me into this miniature changing room that mainly consisted of a curtain that enclosed itself in a small circle. I changed my clothes and neatly folded the clothes I was previously wearing. I buttoned up the jacket and tied the red ribbon around the collar. It was pretty though, and it flowed in the air whenever I moved. I supposed Johnny included it to lighten my mood up a bit. I slipped on my skirt, which was a little bit like my school uniform skirt except with white lace on the bottom. I put the black socks on which stopped right above my knees and the dark brown boots that had silver zippers on the sides. After making sure to check I put everything on correctly, I opened up the curtains and saw everyone in the office gaping at me.

I blushed. "U-uh….what's wrong? D-do I look weird?" I was about to run back into the curtain room, but Lenalee shook her head.

"No, you look…so cute!" She stated cheerfully. Johnny, Allen and Komui nodded their heads in agreement.

"I should've asked if you wanted anything for your hair! It's pretty long." Johnny suggested after my face turned back to its original color.

"No, it's fine, but…" I twirled my hair around my fingers. "I guess a clip for my bangs would be nice. I could've sworn my hair was longer than this…"

"Oh, umm…." Komui started fidgeting around with this thumbs. "Well, you had hit your head pretty bad and it was getting in the way of the injury so we…."

"Cut it off?" I finished for him. He nodded regretfully and sighed.

I sighed, but sent him a smile. "It's fine, Komui-san. I should be grateful. At least it wasn't my _all _my hair.."

"That's right. We're just glad you're okay, Rosalie-chan." Lenalee informed me and took my wrist. "Now, go look at yourself in your new uniform!" She placed me in front of a full-length mirror.

I blinked a few times and stared at my reflection. My uniform was identical to Lenalee's, except I had buttons going down the jacket, sort of like a cardigan. It was the same dark blue and the only thing that really made a difference between mine and hers was the red bow I was wearing. Overall, it was pretty casual. I thanked Johnny before he left to go get a hair clip.

But what I was really looking at was my own face. It just looked…_different _somehow. It wasn't due to the fact that I just turned sixteen. I _did _look sixteen, but compared to Lenalee…I did look a little bit younger. That wasn't it though. It was my eyes. It was still that light shade of green. Jade green as my mom would call it. They didn't have that same, soft look anymore. They looked determined, like I finally decided on a life-changing decision, which in a way, I did. I tried to adjust myself to the look in my eyes. They weren't the eyes of a normal teenage girl anymore. As I slowly ran my fingers over the Rose Cross, I realized they were the eyes of an Exorcist.

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**Stella: I wonder where I found the sudden urge to revise these. I know this one is kinda just a description of the Black Order and stuff. :P Not the most excting chapter to read...**

**Rose: Yeah...I understand.**

**Stella: *glares* I hate you!**

**Rose: I was kidding! **

**Stella: Oh...yeah...I was kidding too...haha.**

**Rose: *staredown***

**Stella: *blinks* ahhh!**

**Allen: What're they doing?**

**Lenalee: I don't really know...**

**Stella: *clears throat* Ahem, well anyways. Please leave reviews and thanks for the support of this story! :D**


	3. The Place that was Once Called Home

**Stella: YESS! Chapter 3 revised! I'm starting to like this story a little better.**

**Rose: But you're the one that's writing them!**

**Stella: I know. Hahaha, now my chapters are twice as long...**

**Rose: And now I'm going on my first mission!**

**Stella: Oh yeah! Well, let me explain something. I know it seems weird that Rose is getting sent back to her hometown for a mission and they know about her being an Exorcist and all...but remember, that's because they're _supporters._ It plays out in the story later on...whenever I decide to plan it xD**

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It's been almost a week since I've first arrived at the Order, also counting the first three days I was unconscious. I was slowly becoming used to my new life here, but it was still very different than what I was used to. I haven't been able to meet other Exorcists since they were all out on missions. Lenalee told me that the number of Exorcists the Order was pretty tight, so they got sent on missions almost all the time.

The only reason Allen and Lenalee weren't out on missions of their own was because they were too busy training me. So far, I've been training everyday with the duo. Fighting came somewhat natural when I had the bracers on. The '_Hands of the Earth' _as it was called. I found out through training that it lets me manipulate the four basic elements. Komui told me he needed to do further research on it to find out what type of Innocence it is. At first, he suggested it was an equipment-type, but apparently equipment-types don't have high synchronization rates. I didn't understand much of it, but I told myself I would eventually.

I trained for hours each day. Still, I was only a novice fighter. I did know a _little _bit of self-defense because of dad, but this was a whole new level. They made sure it was my natural instinct to duck and roll whenever the akuma shot their "dark matter" at us. And when the chance was right, I had to strike them down, but I already knew what that felt like. Dad was the first akuma I killed after all…

But, there were some good things that came out of living at the Black Order, or Headquarters as it was referred to. I've become much closer to both Allen and Lenalee during this past week. They're both so incredibly nice and polite and it's hard to feel sad around them. I still don't know that much about them, but I figured they can't be bad people. I'm glad Lenalee was around so she could keep Komui focused on his work. I guess he wasn't the serious man I thought he was. Not around Lenalee, anyway.

After I made dodging, rolling and fighting my top priorities during training, Komui decided that I was finally ready for my first mission. Deep down, I was pretty scared and nervous, but at the same time I was also a little…excited.

"You'll be going with Allen. It's a pretty easy mission and if everything goes right, you two should be back by the afternoon." Komui told me the next morning Allen was already there and greeted me with his adorable smile.

As I made my way towards them, a blue ball with silver transparent wings started flapping towards me.

"What is this, a fairy?" I giggled and it fluttered angrily.

Komui smirked. "It's a golem. It's our way of communicating. And be grateful, that's our latest design."

"Oh…so that's what it is." I looked over above Allen's head where his yellow golem was flying around excitedly. "Do they all look different?"

Komui shook his head and smiled rather proudly. "No, the standard ones are black. The one you have is the first of its kind. We decided to give it to you as a sort of…welcome gift. Allen's was given to him by his master, who probably created Timncanpy himself."

"Tim…canpy…?"

Allen nodded happily. "Yeah, that's his name. He's been with me for a long time."

"Awww. Well, what's this golem's name?" I asked eagerly, pointing to the blue silver ball that rested itself on my hair.

"Her name is…" Komui began and took out a piece of crumpled up paper from his desk and read it out loud, "Navi." The golem flapped her wings happily at the mention of her name.

"Navi…hmm, okay then! I guess we'll be together from now on!" I smiled and picked her up in my hands. "Thank you, Komui-san."

"By the way, Komui, where are we going?" Allen cocked his head to the side and glanced over at Komui.

"Oh umm…." Komui started messing with his fingers again, something I realized he does when he probably has something unpleasant to say. "Well…you and Rosalie will be going to London…"

My smile slowly faded away from my face, "D-did you say…London?"

Before I knew it, Komui was kneeling down beside me, sobbing and holding on to my legs, "I know! I'm sorry, Rosalie! I would've sent Lenalee instead, but she left yesterday and I didn't think about it and I know how it might not be the greatest idea with what just happened and – "

"Komui…san…" I interrupted his ranting and sighed, "It's fine. That really shouldn't matter right now. What's important…is the mission." I told him with assurance, but I could feel my eyes starting to water up.

"You'll be fine, Rose. Promise." Allen placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a confident smile. "Let's go now, okay?"

I smiled back, albeit it was halfhearted, and followed him outside of the office. I waved to Komui who wished us luck while wiping away the rest of his tears. Allen led me all the way to the first floor of HQ and we stepped outside on a small, cement path. It was a waterway and I realized that I've never seen the outside of the Order due to my being unconscious. After we traveled across the water, we made it to a small town. I followed Allen to a train station and we looked for an empty cabin inside.

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I felt like my heart was beating so fast it might burst. My excitement from earlier was long gone. How could I face everyone again? I already let them down…

"Are you okay, Rose?" Allen asked kindly, interrupting my thoughts. "It's not like it's your first time fighting akuma. But it _is _your first mission. I'm sure you'll do fine though. And if Komui-san said that we'd be back home by the afternoon, it should be pretty easy. I don't think I've ever gotten back from a mission soon. And if you ever need anything, you know I'm here."

I pondered on what to say for a moment and replied slowly, "Thank you…Allen. But you're right. It's not my first time. It's my second…"

He looked at me, as if he could take back what he said. But it wasn't his fault. I avoided talking about what happened a week ago with Allen and Lenalee altogether. As far as I knew, they didn't know anything about it. Lenalee might've known because of Komui, and if she did, she was at least considerate enough to wait for me to say something about it. It wasn't something I liked to think about much, but I can't deny the fact that it still happened.

Allen looked at me apologetically, his silver eyes meeting my green ones. "I'm sorry. I should really think before I say something next time."

I waved my hand around. "No, it's fine, really. It's just…all so new for me, you know? I know it means saving people and their loved ones but…"

"It's okay. These things take time. So don't rush yourself, alright?" He smiled at me reassuringly.

I sighed. "Okay…" Allen still didn't realize why I was starting to feel so nauseous. It was because I was going home. But…that place wasn't my home anymore. It was a _living hell._ I didn't want to go back to the place where I was forced see my own mother turn my own father into akuma. The place where I forced to see my father kill the people of my town. The place where I was forced to _kill _my father. That didn't feel like saving to me…

We arrived in less than an hour and I felt like I was going to throw up, but I held it back. I needed to be stronger.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" I asked Allen nervously. I looked around my small little hometown. It looked the same as ever, but it had a different feel. A frightening feel. There was still rubble and debris around, but it was pushed to the side like someone was trying to clean it up. I felt extremely uncomfortable. I didn't want to be here at all.

"Komui said there were sightings of an akuma…" He said slowly.

"Aha! There it is." I looked at Allen, and his left eye turned red with a monocle around it. He noticed me staring at him and smiled.

"Oh, my left eye gives me the ability to see an akuma's soul." He explained simply.

"Ummm…."

He laughed dryly, "I'll explain later. We need to hurry."

Allen led us down the road. The whole place seemed empty, like a ghost town, but I saw familiar faces looking at us through their windows. Then we arrived my school. Well, my _former _school.

"In here?" I asked, a little confused.

He nodded. "Yeah, are you ready?"

My mouth opened to reply, but no words came out.

"Y-yes." I finally said, but my mind was thinking otherwise.

'_I really don't want to do this anymore. W-what if…what if it's someone I know?'_

My stomach flipped, but regardless, I went inside. Every class that we walked, someone would turn their head to look at us. Some of my old friends waved at me, others were confused as to why I was still there. Maybe they already knew I became an Exorcist. People from my town, according to Komui, were supporters of the Black Order. I didn't notice Allen stop in from of me and I ran into his back. We stood in front of a classroom. A familiar classroom. **My classroom.**

'_No…please, no.' _I shut my eyes and shook my head in desperation.

Allen slammed the door open. I looked up and saw my old classmates. My teacher – _former_ teacher - got up from her chair, outraged.

"What is the meaning of this young man-Oh! Rosalie-chan. What're you doing here?" She blinked a few times and stared at me, bewildered. "I thought you left for the Black Order already. Being an Exorcist is serious work. Didn't your father tell you? You _are_ an Exorcist now, right?"

So even my old teacher was a supporter.

My voice was shaky. "I am, sensei. And…actually…my mission brought me here. In this classroom, to be exact."

"Rose, it's that girl. The one in the back seat all the way to the left." I heard Allen tell me with urgency in his voice.

I gasped in my own horror. "No…it can't be."

He pointed to my childhood friend, Camille. She smiled innocently, but then her arms turned into mutated guns.

"Everyone, get back! Rose, defeat that akuma while I get everyone out!"

"Hello, Rose. It's been awhile." Her voice wasn't her own. It was high pitched and annoying. I tried to tell myself she was an akuma.

'_It's not Camille anymore. She's an akuma. It's not Camille…'_

I started shaking at the horrible truth. But...I had to save her. I jumped across the room and tackled her down. She kicked me up and aimed for me. I dodged it, but it blew a big hole in the wall, revealing the outside. I ran up to her and punched her directly. My fist grew hot and fire cloaked the bracers. It was responding to my movements and I waved my arms towards her and she burned.

The cries pierced my ears, but it slowly stopped. My tears, however, flowed endlessly. I made sure to dodge, as I've been learning from Allen and Lenalee, the explosion and got up after it was over.

"I hope I saved you, Camille." I whispered and stood in the middle of the devastated classroom.

"Rosalie-chan…you did the right thing…" Sensei told me and pulled me in an embrace while I cried softly on her shoulder.

We all went outside where I was greeted by my old classmates,

"So, you're an Exorcist now, huh? I never thought I'd see the day. You're just too nice, Rosalie-chan. But I guess saving people suits you. We're still really sorry about your parents…" My classmate, Vincent, put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

"Yeah, I never expected any of this either. It's all happening too fast." I told him and shrugged his hand off. I honestly just wanted to be left alone.

"But you're a good girl. You'll be able to do it. You'll be a great Exorcist. Like your dad was!" Another classmate, Rikku, smiled at me.

My eyes watered up a little. "So, if Camille was the akuma, someone she loved must have died."

"Oh, yeah. It was Rev. He was one of the unlucky ones that night." She said in a grave voice and frowned and the mention of our deceased friend.

I didn't even need to ask what _that _night was. I just simply nodded.

"You know…we've missed you…" Vincent told me after a moment of silence.

"Ahahaha yeah, Vincent even kept a few locks of your hair in this little bag with him!" Rikku snickered and smacked Vincent playfully on the arm.

"I did not!"

I looked at them in awe. So…they weren't mad at me after all. I sighed in relief. They pulled me in an embrace and wished me luck on my new path.

I waved goodbye to them and started to make my way back with Allen towards the train.

"So…I'm guessing something happened here just recently?" He finally managed to ask after we began walking for a few minutes in an awkward silence.

"Yeah…"

"You don't have to tell me, but it's easier to let it out."

I sighed and looked into his innocent-looking, silver eyes. They seemed to show genuine worry and care. In that instant, for some reason, I felt like I could really trust him. "That's okay. I'll tell you."

So I told him everything and he really seemed to understand. Then, he told me about his foster father, Mana, and how he brought him back as an akuma when he was ten years old. Because of Mana, Allen got his cursed left eye.

"So that's why you can see akuma? I guess we're not that different. Both of our fathers turned into akuma and we were the ones to end their suffering." I sighed again. Depression really didn't suit me, but I couldn't see any other way around it at the moment.

"Yeah, you're right. But I'm sure they would've wanted it this way. You're a very strong person, Rosalie. I'm sure your father knew that."

I furrowed my eyebrows together. "Yeah…I guess so…" I ran a hand through my hair. "I should really be thankful for you though, Allen. If it wasn't for all that vigorous training you and Lenalee put me through, I'd probably be dead."

He smiled sheepishly. "It was no problem. And that's not true. You still have me, remember? And we're working together from now on."

I returned his smile with my own. "Yes. Thank you so much, really."

We made it to the train station and Allen stood in the doorframe smiling with his hand extended.

"Come on, Rose. Let's go home."

My eyes widened and I wiped them before tears could fall. My town that I grew up in…wasn't my home anymore. The Black Order was. It's only been a week, but it _did _feel like home now. And that's probably because it _was _my home now.

I grinned and took his hand."Yes, let's go home."

* * *

**Stella: Thanks for reading it so far! I hope you enjoyed my revised chapter! I have to say, it definitely _is _way better than the original. Just what was I thinking when I wrote those? I still can't get over it. Not that these are great, but they're most definitely an improvement.**

**Rose: Allen and I are best friends~**

**Allen: Yes! Best friends~**

**Stella: But you're meeting Lavi in the next chapter.**

**Rose: Who's Lavi?**

**Allen: He's...interesting...**

**Stella: Time to edit chapter 4! well, please leave reviews and tell me what you think! Oh yeah, if anyone doesn't know, Navi is from the Legend of Zelda! :D I just thought it'd be cool if she was a golem...**


	4. Welcome to the Family

**Stella: Ahh, it's August! Boo...**

**Lavi: But you're birthday is coming up! And mine, too!**

**Stella: Lavi! You're finally here~**

**Lavi: Well, yeah. This story can't really start without me, right?**

**Stella: Of course~ Well, to the old readers, this is chapter 4 revised! To new readers, this is...chapter 4! It's kinda filler-ish. I took out the next chapter so things might seem a little...off. :P So I'll go edit the next chapter! Enjoy~**

* * *

After Allen and I came back home from the mission, I went straight to my room. I felt lost and confused, but at the same time I also felt relieved. As soon as I got in my room, I locked the door and slumped down onto my bed. I sighed and slipped the bracers off of my arms and threw them to the side where they made a few clashing sounds before my room was washed in silence again.

I wasn't sure how long I was sulking in my room until I heard a few knocks on my door.

I sat up slowly and stared at the door for a few seconds. "Who is it?"

"It's Allen."

"And Lenalee!" A cheerful voice piped up. I got up and instantly opened the door only to be embraced by two long arms.

"L-Lenalee!" I stumbled back a few steps so I didn't fall over. "I thought you were out on a mission…."

She nodded and let me go. I finally had a chance to look at her face, which had a huge bandage on her cheek. I scanned the rest of her body to see that she was cut up pretty bad, but she was still smiling as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you…o-okay?" I asked unsurely, darting my eyes over her injuries again.

She smiled warmly. "Yes. It's just a few cuts, but I'll be okay. My mission went fine though. We located Innocence!"

Allen sighed wearily. "It's good to know your mission went okay, too. We just had to – " Allen stopped midsentence and glanced over at me. I was staring at my feet with tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"Y-yes. Komui told me about it. But I'm glad you two are home safe, right, Rosalie-chan?" She asked me, this time with a forced smile.

I forced a smile as well and replied meekly, "Yes, thank you Lenalee. Well…" My eyes glanced at them briefly, "Is there anything you needed?"

They nodded in unison and Allen stepped closer to me. "Yeah, it's almost dinnertime. Don't you want to join us?"

I was about to shake my head, but my stomach gave me away. I laughed nervously and had no choice but to nod my head.

"Sure, why not?"

I followed the two to the cafeteria and was completely surprised when I walked in.

"Surprise! Welcome to the family!" It seemed like almost everyone in the Order was in that room, greeting me. I stared at everyone, not really sure what to do. I glanced over at Lenalee and Allen, who were smiling at me as well. I looked back at everyone in front of me. There were a few familiar faces, but the majority of them were strangers to me.

"I uh…umm…" I stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I r-really don't know what to say…but thank you, everyone." I bowed my head down in appreciation and felt my eyes water up again.

Lenalee looped an arm around mine and wiped my eyes with her sleeve. "Don't thank us. You're a part of the family now, remember?"

Allen nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. We do this for all our new Exorcists after their first mission. That's why Komui was eager to send you out on one, even though it meant…you know..."

"Yeah, but it's fine. I'm just…" I managed a small smile. "I'm really grateful, that's all."

Before I knew it, everyone else in the room started crowding around me, introducing themselves. I was a bit flustered by all the attention, but it was nice to get to know more people. I met a handful of Finders and a few more Exorcists. Most of the Exorcists I met had just come back from missions. I met a lady, Miranda Lotto, who seemed very nice but very…panicky. There was Arystar Krory III, who reminded me of a vampire because of his sharp fangs that were his Innocence. I also met a tall man named Noise Marie, who was apparently blind, but he had a very good sense of hearing. They were all very kind, but I really wanted to meet the other two teens that Johnny told me about.

"C'mon Yu! She's over here! We're going to seem really rude if we don't introduce ourselves." A young, but masculine voice said. I turned around and saw two guys, one with red spiky hair and the other with long blue hair in a ponytail, walking towards me. The one with red hair was grinning and had an arm over the blue haired one's shoulders who was glaring at the latter.

"Oi! Don't call me that baka usagi." The long haired one said. They got closer and I was able to get a closer look at them. They were both handsome, in their own way. The one with long hair was…beautiful. In a total masculine way, of course. He looked Japanese and his extremely lengthy hair reminded me of my mother. The other guy was cute. And not like Allen cute, but cute in a way that made my heart beat just slightly faster. He had an eyepatch over his right eye, but the one that wasn't covered was a very pretty green. Like, nature green. He had a bandana that held his red hair up and an orange scarf around his neck. Overall, he stood out from all the other Exorcists due to his…accessories, I guess.

"Yu, we're already here, so we might as well introduce ourselves." Said redhead told his companion. So…the one with blue hair's name was Yu? I don't remember hearing about a Yu. I thought it was just Lavi and Kanda. But, they had to be the other teenage Exorcists that Johnny was telling me about.

"Hi, you must be Rosalie Hinode, right?" The red haired one asked me cheerfully.

I blinked a few times and nodded. "Yes. You must be…" I took a random guess at the only two names I knew. "…Kanda?"

He stared at me for a few seconds and let out hysterical laughter. The blue haired one glared at me, instantly filling my body up with nervousness. Okay…I guess his name wasn't Kanda. After a few more seconds, the redhead wiped his tears away and patted me on the shoulder.

"Wow, that was a good one. Thanks for the laugh!" He said and let out a few more chuckles. I stared at him and pursed my lips together.

"Then you're…Lavi?" I asked, suddenly unsure of myself even though that was the only name left.

He grinned and nodded. "Yup! I'm Lavi! Nice to meet ya."

"So then he…" I slowly turned to the other youth who wouldn't stop glaring. "Must be Kanda? But, I thought I heard you calling him Yu."

"Yu's his first name. You should call him that from now on." He laughed and put an arm over his friend's shoulders again. At least, I _thought _they were friends.

"No. It's Kanda, that's all." Yu, or Kanda, finally said. His voice was serious and it seemed like he was in a bad mood.

"O-oh, okay. Well, it's nice to meet you, Lavi and Kanda." I stated happily and smiled at them.

"Che." Was all that escaped from Kanda's lips before he walked away.

I gulped. "D-did I do something wrong…?"

Lavi smirked and ruffled my hair, much to my displeasure. "Nah, he's always like that. Don't let it get to you."

I sighed and turned to face him. I just barely came up his shoulders. I looked up into his single green eye and smiled nervously.

"Well, I look forward to working with you."

He nodded and returned the smile. "Yeah."

After that, I couldn't think of anything else to say and I suddenly got nervous. For some reason, it just seemed easier talking to Lenalee or Allen. As soon as I opened my mouth to say something, Komui came up to us with a big smile on his face.

"Rosalie~" He sang a little too happily. "Oh, and Lavi too! Good, the two people I needed to see."

"What is it, Komui-san?"

"Well…I know you two just came back from your own seperate missions, but…" He looked around nervously.

"You need us to go on another one? Yeah, I'm not really surprised there, Chief." Lavi interjected and ran a hand through his hair.

I looked at the ground. I wasn't all that keen about going on another mission so soon. But, as an Exorcist, that was my job. I had to accept it. I had no other choice. And it wasn't a bad thing either, since it meant I would be saving people. That's what I kept telling myself, anyway…

I sighed. "Okay. When do we leave?"

"You, Lavi and Kanda will leave in two days to go to Rome where we believe there is Innocence. There have been reports of water deprivation from most of the waterways, except for just one water fountain." He informed us seriously.

"Man, and we're going with Yu? You're sure the life of the party, Chief." Lavi joked.

"Well, since Bookman isn't back yet, Kanda is going in his place."

"Oh yeah, the old panda sure moves slower these days, doesn't he?"

I looked back and forth between the two, wondering who they were talking about. Lavi caught me looking at him and smiled.

"The old panda is an Exorcist too. He's sort of like my mentor or something…" He admitted sheepishly. "Well, I'm heading off to bed. Nice meeting you, Rose. Later!" And I watched as his figure faded into the long dark halls.

'_He seems…interesting…'_

"It _is _getting pretty late, Rosalie. Maybe you should get some rest too." Komui told me. I looked up and realized that most everyone had already left. Others were passed out on the floor. Lenalee and Allen were asleep with their heads on a table.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thank you, Komui-san. Even though I just got here, I'm starting to feel like part of the family already."

He smiled and patted my head. "Good. Goodnight, Rosalie."

"Goodnight."

I inhaled a deep breath and turned for my room. I guess today wasn't such a bad day after all. I met a lot of new people and they were all so nice. Well, except Kanda, but maybe he and I would be able to get closer on the mission. Lavi was very nice, too. Something about him just seems…a little familiar. But I'm sure I would've remembered if I've seen him before. Oh well. I'll have time for questions during the next mission.

Everything was still happening too fast, but with my new family, I knew I'd be able to overcome whatever obstacles were thrown my way.

* * *

**Stella: It's nice not having Rose all depressed like how I originally wrote it.**

**Rose: Yeah, despression doesn't really suit me.**

**Lavi: Strike!~**

**Stella: *glares* No, Lavi. Down boy!**

**Rose: What does that mean?**

**Stella: You don't wanna know. Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I know it's pretty short, but I'll make sure to make the next one long! :D**

**Lavi: Please review! Maybe as an early birthday present for me and Stella-chan? *puppy eyes***

**Rose: *blushes***

**Stella: Haha, even Rose can't resist the cute puppy eyes. xD**


	5. Training with Yu sucks

**Stella: Chapter 5 revised! These are taking me longer than I thought...or maybe it was just this chapter, because I just revised a random chapter no sweat! **

**Rose: Maybe it's because you're changing a lot more than you anticipated...**

**Stella: True...well, hopefully I can do chapter 6 tomorrow! :D I actually want to do it now...but it's 4 am. Ahhh, why do I do this to myself?!**

**Lavi: Now I feel like I don't know Rose-chan as well...**

**Stella: Well, don't worry. You two will get to know each other soon enough! ;P New and old readers, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Again, it's kinda filler-ish.**

* * *

I woke up the next day with a little more motivation than usual. Maybe I was sort of excited about the new mission…

I got up from my bed and reached for my brush. After I finished brushing my hair, I placed the brush by a picture of me and my parents. One of my old classmates gave it to me before I left London yesterday. It made me feel a little melancholy, but I took it anyway. It was a picture of when I was about five or six. I just started school and it looked as if I had just finished crying. I don't really remember why I was crying though, but mom and dad were holding me up by my arms. We all looked so happy.

…but things don't always last forever.

I sighed. It wasn't the time to be thinking like that. I had a mission tomorrow and I needed to be both physically and mentally prepared. I ran a hand through my curly locks and decided I should get some training in before I set out to Rome tomorrow. After putting on my bracers, I headed out.

As I got to the training hall, I realized there was someone already there. I got closer and realized it was Kanda. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, barely moving an inch. It seemed as if he erased his breath. The silence around me felt uneasy. Was he sleeping? It sure didn't seem comfortable to sleep like that.

I took a step closer to him, "Kanda…"

He didn't move.

"Kaaaaandaaaaa….." I whispered.

He opened an eye and glared at me. "What, curly?"

"O-oh, s-s-so you weren't s-sleeping?" I asked, suddenly nervous under his glare.

"Che. It's called meditating." He replied and closed his eye to continue his meditating. Right, meditating. How could I mistake that for sleeping? No one sleeps like that anyway…

'_I probably just gave him another reason to dislike me even more.'_

I frowned and was about to turn around, but Kanda's voice froze me in place. "What're you doing here?"

"Me?!" I yelped, much to my surprise.

"I'm not talking to anyone else."

"Yu-chan, Stop being so mean to her!" I turned around to my daring savior and let out a sigh of relief when I saw Lavi in the distance. He caught up to us and grinned.

"G-good morning, Lavi!"

"And a good morning to you! But, I see Yu probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed again." He chuckled, but then suddenly stepped back. I followed his gaze and found myself starring at a long sharp sword. A katana, to be exact. Where did that come from?

"I will cut you to pieces, baka usagi!" He growled and pointed his katana closer to Lavi's face. Lavi, in response, backed away slowly with a grin still on his face.

Lavi put his hands up defensively. "Really, is there any need to be so violent right now?"

"Tell me why you're here. If you don't need to be here, then leave." Kanda spat down, slowly lowering his weapon.

"Yeah, just put your Mugen away first. You're scaring me right now…" The redhead told him nervously, but with a playful tone at the same time.

"Che. You're annoying." Kanda told him irritably and finally sheathed his katana.

"Is that your anti-akuma weapon? It's really neat." I said politely, hoping to start a conversation with him. But it seemed as if he was ignoring me and sat back down.

"Uhhh…umm…I mean – "

"Don't sweat it. He's always like this." Lavi informed me. "Anyways, I was looking for you."

"Me?" I pointed to myself and he nodded. "What for?"

"Komui wants to see you. Something about your Innocence. Well, let's go!" He concluded and started walking away. I followed him, but not before glancing back at Kanda, who had his eyes closed again.

"So, Rose. Where ya from?" Lavi asked me on the way to Komui's office.

"I'm from London."

"London, huh? That's neat. How old are you?"

I stared at my feet and replied, "Sixteen."

"Ahh, looks like I'm older than you." He chuckled. "I'm – "

"Eighteen." I finished for him.

"What? Hey, how'd you know?"

I shrugged my shoulders and answered honestly, "Johnny told me a little bit about you and Kanda. Well, just your ages and your height. And your Innocence-type. That's about it."

"Oh? He didn't tell you how incredibly handsome and awesome I am?" He laughed and gave me a big smile.

I couldn't help but to smile back. He was completely different from Allen and Lenalee. And Kanda…too. _Way _different from Kanda.

"No, I'm afraid he didn't mention that…" I giggled and wiped a few stray bangs away from my face.

He laughed along with me. It was strange. For some reason, being with Lavi made me feel like I had nothing to worry about, which was a little weird considering that I just met him yesterday. I guess it was just the kind of person he was. Now that I got a closer look at him, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before, which was strange, considering that I just met him yesterday. But that red hair of his was strikingly familiar.

We made it to Komui's office and Lavi automatically took his place on the single couch in the middle of the room.

"Umm….I'm here, Komui-san."

Komui turned around and looked at me seriously. I was guessing the matter he wanted to discuss was important then.

"Rosalie…"

"Y-yes?"

"I need to talk to you, regarding your Innocence." He pushed his glasses up and picked up a clipboard from his desk.

Lavi perked his head up and looked at us skeptically, as if he was observing something important. Komui looked at Lavi for a second, as if debating whether or not to kick him out, but he shook his head and left that idea. I darted my eyes between the two, but none of them were looking my way.

"Is there something wrong with it?" I asked him unsurely and my palms were starting to get a little sweaty from the nervousness.

Komui dropped his clipboard and looked at me. "Well….we're just a little…unsure how we should go about this."

"Unsure how?"

"Remember when I told you I didn't think you're Innocence was an equipment-type because of its high synchronization rate?"

Lavi sat up and chimed in. "Wait, her Innocence _has _to be an equipment-type. What else could it be?"

"We're not sure. That's why we called her down here to do further research on it."

"O-oh. Okay, then…" I pulled off the bracers and handed them to Komui.

"By the way..." He began, "I know I should've asked sooner, but I didn't really think about it. How did you get these bracers in the first - owwww!" Right as I handed them to him, he dropped them on the floor and yelled and took a step back.

"Komui-san! What's wrong?" I bent down to pick up the bracers and tried to place them in his hands again, but he took a step back. I gave him a nervous glance and wondered why he wouldn't take them.

Lavi got up from the couch and made his way towards us. "Chief…?"

"T-they…shocked me!" Komui cried out overdramatically.

I titled my head to the side. "E-excuse me?"

Komui turned to me after recomposing himself. He looked as if was about to pick them up again, but stood back up. He turned and stared at me questionably, as if accusing me of something. But I had no idea why.

"I…I didn't do anything to them!" I pleaded, trying to convince him. I guess that shock must've really put him on edge.

He sighed, "I know. I guess it's just your weapon. Maybe it isn't cooperative with non-Innocence users. Well, I guess I can't do anything now."

Lavi deadpanned, "Wait, so you're just gonna give up?"

He turned to Lavi and glared at him. "Nooo, but now I have time to work on Sir Komlin VII~"

The red haired teen sweatdropped, "Another one? Chief, is this really the time to be goofing off?"

Komui's expression turned serious again. "I believe Bookman knows a bit of information regarding the 'Hands of the Earth.' I'll ask him once he gets back."

"Ahh, of course. The old panda…"

"Well, you two should be preparing for tomorrow!" Komui suggested. "Goodbye~"

Lavi and I exchanged nervous glances. I guess Komui could be a kid when he wanted to be. But it seemed strange that my Innocence shocked him like that. I _do_ remember when that redheaded man that gave me the weapon and told me he knew it belonged with me because it didn't shock me…but at the time, I didn't know what he meant. Now I understood perfectly. Albeit, I didn't know he _literally _meant shock. I picked up my bracers and slipped them back on as we left his office.

"The Chief sure is something, huh?" Lavi joked.

"Mhmm, but he seems like a nice guy." I told him honestly. "Anyways, I'm heading to the training hall. Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular, but I'll go with you. I wanna tease Yu some more!"

I let out a nervous laugh. "I-is that…such a good idea?"

Lavi simply chuckled and followed me the rest of the way to the training hall. Once we stepped in, we saw Kanda still meditating, but it looked as if was just finishing up. He stood up, his long hair flowing gracefully behind him, and pulled out Mugen, as Lavi called it. I took this opportunity to hopefully become better acquainted with him.

"Kanda!" I called out cheerfully and ran up to the longhaired Japanese Exorcist. I anticipated for him to at least _look _at me, but no such thing happened. I let out a disappointed sigh and refused to give up. I wasn't sure why I was so determined to become Kanda's friend. Maybe it was because I was easily able to become acquainted with the rest of the Exorcists.

"Kanda...do…do you want to…." I stammered, suddenly nervous at he glared at me. "Uhh….um…"

He clicked his tongue. "What is it, curly?" He demanded with an annoyed tone.

"Nothing!" I yelped and took a step back. Lavi caught up to us and put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sure she wants to ask if she can train with you." Lavi announced and pushed me forward. "Right, Rose?"

I nodded shyly and walked closer to Kanda. "I-if you don't mind, that is…"

Kanda stared at me in a churlish manner. "I don't have time for rookies like you."

I gulped. "But I…"

"Awww, he doesn't mean it, right Yu?" Lavi said teasingly and then whispered in my ear, "He's probably scared about being beat by a girl."

Kanda growled, "Shut the fuck up. I'm not scared of anything." He replied in a monotone voice. Somehow, I felt like he was telling the truth when he said wasn't scared of anything. He definitely seemed like a fearless man to me.

"O-okay…" I gave up, but Lavi grabbed me by the shoulder again and shook his head. I stared at him in confusion and he merely smiled.

"Just one match, Yu! Come on!" Lavi begged, tugging on Kanda's shirt. I could've sworn I saw a dark aura forming around the longhaired teen.

"Umm…Lavi? Maybe we shouldn't – "

The sound of metal whipping in the air silenced me. He moved his sword so fast and precise that I definitely knew that it was his forte. I've never seen anyone handle a sword so proficiently. As his eyes darted to my astonished facial expression, I saw the smallest smirk on his face.

"You still want to train with me, curly?" He asked in a low, but terrifying voice.

I was about to shake my head and tell him nevermind, but...

"Yeah, she will!" Lavi answered for me and pushed me ahead. Kanda scooted out of the way and wasted no time to get behind me and point his sharp katana at my back.

"Che. You should never have your back at the enemy."

I turned around and took a stance, bending my knees. "I wasn't ready yet!"

"You should always be ready." He stated bluntly.

He came at me again with his sword and I was able to just barely move out of the way. It felt like a game of cat-and-mouse. Except, I was a _very_ slow mouse. Kanda was unbelievably fast and his body looked like a blur every time he ran by me. I couldn't even focus on using my anti-akuma weapon. I'll admit it; I was absolutely terrified at the moment. Kanda seemed like he seriously wanted to kill me. In less than ten minutes, he had me pinned down to the ground with Mugen pointing at my neck, threatening to slit it.

"Che. You're just a rookie. If you can't even last this long with me, how do you expect yourself to last on our mission?" He got up and I followed shortly afterwards, brushing myself off.

"I umm…" I frowned and stared the ground. "Well…I survived my first mission…" I admitted sheepishly.

"You only had to kill one akuma. That's nothing compared to what we have to do everyday." He asserted and turned his back to me. "If you want to live tomorrow, you'd better shape up."

"Whaaaaaat? You only had to fight _one _akuma yesterday?" Lavi asked in disbelief. "I would _love _that kind of mission!"

I avoided eye contact with the two. Kanda was right. I would've barely survived yesterday if Allen wasn't there with me. And it was only one akuma. According to Lavi's reaction, it obviously seemed like they did a _lot _more. Maybe I wasn't using my head. I fell short as an Exorcist. Compared to what they had to do, I did baby work. I'm sure dad was a way better Exorcist than I was…

Dad…

There was so much I wanted to know regarding him as an Exorcist, but still…thinking about him made me sad. He was probably very strong, too. I shook my head and cleared my thoughts of him. I'd think about it later, after I became _stronger._

Kanda still had his back towards me and Lavi was trying to get his attention. Lavi was most likely a very strong Exorcist, too. Compared to everyone else, I was weak. I was weakest link on the chain. That fact alone was enough to make me cry, but I refused to let my tears fall. All the excitement I felt about the new mission started to leave me…

"Rose…?" Lavi brought me back from my thoughts. "Hey, don't worry about him, Yu's just – "

"No, it's fine. Actually, I want to go again, if you don't mind…" I told Kanda with newfound determination. He merely "che'd" me again before drawing up his Mugen.

We clashed for what seemed like hours while Lavi sat down and read a book. If taking Kanda's harsh insults wasn't enough, he always came close to nearly killing me. But I wasn't giving up just yet. I was determined to become stronger for myself and my fellow Exorcists. I couldn't afford to be vulnerable during the mission tomorrow.

After the countless spars, Kanda finally decided to call it quits. He hardly looked like he broke a sweat. That only proved how much of a competition I was for him.

"That was…a little better." Kanda admitted reluctantly.

"Hah…tha…nks…." I managed to say, before collapsing on the ground from exhaustion. The last thing I saw was Kanda walking away and Lavi running towards me. Well, I guess if Kanda said I did a little better, then I really did a _lot_ better. At least, that's what I told myself.

One thing I knew for sure was…he was definitely harder to train with than with Allen or Lenalee. And he was most definitely a lot meaner.

* * *

**Stella: I know that little encounter with Komui may have seemed pointless, but trust me, there's a meaning to it. Just not in this chapter, but in the later chapters!**

**Rose: I need to be stronger!**

**Kanda: Yeah.**

**Lavi: 4 days until Stella-chan's birthday! :3**

**Stella: Yeah! So...you should um...leave me reviews, please? Ughh, besides I just realized that I'll have to edit like, almost the rest of the chapters. Except "Bad Dreams."**

**Lavi: But at least you have determination.**

**Stella: Yeah, I hope I can add _new _chapters before summer ends. *sobs* I don't wanna go to school next month... :(**


	6. When in Rome

**Stella: Chapter 6...revised. This will probably be the last chapter I get to revise till I get back. I'll be gone from the 6th to the 12th.**

**Lavi: No more stories?!**

**Stella: Just for the week. :(**

**Rose: The train ride...why...**

**Stella: There's a meaning behind it! hehehe.**

**Lavi: Happy early Birthday, Stella-chan! :D**

**Stella: Awww, thanks! I'm turning 17 in two days. Noooo...I'm so old! TxT**

* * *

**Third Person P.O.V.**

The next morning came and Rose was still knocked out from Kanda's intense training. Therefore, Lavi and Kanda had to take turns carrying her down to the train station. Once they got there, Kanda threw her to their Finder, Jim, who placed her inside a compartment. Kanda stalked off to a separate compartment, not much to anyone's surprise. So Lavi decided to stay in the compartment with Rose and the Finder went to look for Kanda.

Once Lavi sat down, he took to looking at the scenery outside. However, after a few minutes, his single eye darted over to Rose's sleeping figure. Her head was rested against the wall, her curls covering her face. Lavi couldn't help but to smile a little. Rose just seemed so determined to beat Kanda yesterday, but Lavi knew she was very far off from that dream. Hopefully she doesn't pass out in the middle of the mission. She's been sleeping for almost ten hours though. Her breathing was light and even, unlike yesterday where it only came in short pants that caused her chest to heave rapidly. She was definitely more peaceful when she was in such a deep slumber…

She began to shift in her seat and her eyes fluttered open.

"Nnnn." She moaned quietly and rubbed her eyes. After blinking a few times, she sat up, confused.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Lavi chuckled softly.

Rose stiffened a yawn and stared at Lavi in curiosity. "We…left already? How long was I sleeping?"

He grinned. "You've been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours."

She widened her eyes and jumped up. "Twenty-four hours?! And where's Kanda?

"No, I'm just kidding." He laughed and signaled her to sit back down, "Relax, Kanda's in a separate compartment. And you've been sleeping ever since you passed out from all that training yesterday."

She sank in her seat, cheeks burning red from embarrassment. "Right…"

Lavi noticed her disappointment and grinned. "Hey, don't be so down. I mean, Yu's been doing this kind of thing for years. _I _probably don't even stand a chance against him."

Rose's lips were curved downward and she sighed, "Yeah…he's just…I don't know. He's hard to talk to, I guess…"

"Well, he does give off that kind of impression, but don't worry. You get used to it! And honestly, I thought you were doing better after you got more practice in yesterday."

Her face lit up slightly. "R-really? That's great!"

Lavi smiled as his attempt to cheer her up succeeded. "So, do you like it at the Black Order so far?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! At first, I was a little nervous. But everyone's so nice to me that it's kind of hard to feel nervous now." She paused and leaned in closer. "Well…except around Kanda." She added quietly.

Lavi laughed at the way she said that. It just seemed so…innocent! He could already tell that she was different from most people that he's met at the Order. She seemed easy to put down, but also easy to cheer up. After yesterday's incident, Lavi could tell she didn't have that much self-confidence, but that didn't stop her from trying to do what her heart was set out for. There was still a lot he _didn't _know about her. He assumed this was the best time to figure out.

"That's good." He told her coolly. "When did you first get there, anyway?"

"About two weeks ago."

"And how'd you find out you were an accommodator for Innocence?"

She hesitated and parted her lips slightly. "I-I don't exactly know…I was _told _about it…I guess…" Her slight frown returned to her face.

Lavi didn't say anything and ran his eye over to her arms. Her sleeves of her jacket were covering up the metal that was her Innocence, but he still knew it was there. Just what was so different about her Innocence? As the future Bookman, it was his job to find out if this was a new chapter in history.

Rose stared at the floor, recalling back memories she wished she didn't have to think about.

"Umm…" Rose brought her head up and met Lavi's gaze, "It was all kind of fast. I mean, I didn't know that I was an accommodator at all. My dad was…well he…my mom umm…" She found herself struggling to tell Lavi what happened the night her father died. Many people at the Order already knew about her story from the files, but why was it still so hard to talk about it when everyone was already informed?

It was most likely because she's only ever talked to Allen and Lenalee about it. She remembered telling Allen about it after her first mission. And when Lenalee was helping Komui with Rose's files, there wasn't a way to avoid reading Rose's backstory. Lenalee was considerate and didn't talk about it, but Rose already knew that she saw, so she told Lenalee anyway and she seemed to understand. They were her closest friends anyway. The three Exorcists had plenty of time to bond over their training sessions.

But why was she trying to tell Lavi about it? As she gazed deeper into his green emerald orb, the feeling of nostalgia washed over her. It all felt as if it's happened before. As if she's seen this eighteen-year-old teen some time ago in her past. Is that why she was finding it in herself to explain to Lavi what happened that dreadful night? Because, for some unknown reason, he might be able to comprehend?

"Lavi…" She finally said. "Have we…umm..."

"Yes?"

She pursed her lips, debating whether or not to ask. As the sunlight made its way into the compartment, she squinted her eyes, trying to protect them from the sun in the horizon.

"Do you want to sit beside me? I'm sure the sun is bothering you." Lavi suggested, patting the seat next to him.

"Okay." She got up, but then the train jerked and she landed on him. Somehow, her legs were straddling his hips and his hands were on her waist. Once she finally regained herself, she looked up to find her face just inches away from Lavi's. Suddenly, all thoughts about asking Lavi whether or they've met disappeared from her mind.

Lavi was definitely a sucker for pretty women, but this was completely…different. Honestly, he didn't see Rose as anyone he'd particularly chase. Not saying she wasn't pretty, but she wasn't exactly his "type." To Lavi, Rose appeared as an innocent, naïve girl. He actually felt weird about trying to see Rose as anything else but a friend even though he just met her.

'_This is bad…very bad.' _Lavi sweatdropped and tried to avoid eye contact at the moment.

Their Finder came in and stepped into the compartment. What perfect timing.

"Are you two okay? Oh, uh excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt." And he left as quickly as he came.

Rose stared at Lavi, frozen in place. Her face was heating up and Lavi's was too. Lavi attempted to move his hands from her waist, but he was frozen in place as well.

"I-I um. T-this isn't…" She stuttered and then the train jerked again. She wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent herself from falling, but…

She yelped, "Eeep, Lavi!" They both fell and he hovered over her that caused them to be in an awkward position that two people who just met shouldn't be in. Honestly, It probably looked like he was seducing her. Her arms were still around his neck. They were actually close enough to kiss. Lavi gulped and finally inhaled some air after holding his breath for so long. He noticed that she smelled pretty good…like strawberries.

Lavi began to mentally debate with himself._ 'No, idiot! Get up and tell her it was an accident. I mean, I'm sure she knows that, but still…'_

And just when things couldn't have gotten worse, the train jerked AGAIN. But this time…..

"Mmf!" Her eyes got really wide.

Yes, this time, God decided to punish them. His lips landed straight on hers. He wasn't exactly complaining. Lavi's kissed a couple girls before, but she was different. Her lips were soft. Innocent. Sweet. Delicate…_familiar. _Why did it seem so familiar to him all of a sudden? Like he's kissed her before…?

They were completely stuck in place. It only lasted a couple seconds, and his lips separated from hers when he finally realized what was happening. He got up as quickly as he could and helped her up.

"So…it seems like a bumpy train ride." He laughed nervously after a minute of complete silence.

**Rose's P.O.V.**

'_What…just…happened…?_

Slowly, I turned around to face Lavi who had the same surprised expression as me.

"Rose?" He called my name out in a shaky voice.

"Um, yes?" My face still felt really hot. I was starting to wonder if my cheeks would ever go back to its regular skin complexion.

"You…okay?" He seemed just as nervous as me.

"I-I think so. Are you?"

"Y-yeah. I guess so."

We stood in another awkward silence.

"Sooo…" He started off.

I laughed nervously, "Sooo…"

He looked like he was thinking of something to talk about. "Well…I wonder how long it'll be before we're there."

"H-hopefully not that long…I know we're going on a mission, but I'm kind of excited to see Rome." I admitted, praying this change of subject would bring us out of this awkwardness.

We didn't talk about the kiss at all after that. Besides, what was there to say? It was a complete accident after all…but still, it was my _first kiss._ And it was with someone I just met! At least, I think I just met him. Somehow, kissing Lavi seemed like déjà vu. But that was impossible since I've never kissed anyone before. I took in a few deep breaths to calm myself down while Lavi just gazed outside the window. I decided the silence went on long enough and attempted to strike up a conversation.

"So uhh…Lavi…" I started out poorly. "Umm, well, you know a little about me. So, tell me about you!"

He tilted his head to the side a bit and replied, "Ah, so you wanna know more about me?" He smirked. Well, at least he was comfortable again. "Well, I'm the successor to the Bookman clan!" He said a matter-of-factly.

"Bookman clan…hmm…" I muttered to myself. I feel like I've heard those exact words before.

"Yeah! See, A Bookman is a recorder of history. Like, history that isn't in textbooks or anything." He informed me in a sudden excited tone.

"Doesn't that mean…it's not really important?" I asked, trying not to offend him, but he didn't seem offended at all.

"Oh, it's _very _important." He stated proudly. "See, we record the _true _history of the world. Things that people _don't _put in books or documents."

I felt suddenly intrigued. I decided that I would just figure out later why Lavi seems so strikingly familiar.

"What kind of true history?" I pressed on.

"Secret wars and all that good stuff." He winked with his only visible eye. "You know, like the war that we're in right now."

I didn't need to ask to know what he was talking about, "The war against the Millennium Earl…"

"Bingo."

"So, what's it mean to be a future Bookman? Do you have special privileges or anything? Or do you get your own special paper to write down documents and stuff?" I smiled sheepishly after listening to myself ask those random questions.

Lavi chuckled and ruffled my hair, much to my annoyance. "Nope. We remember everything we see."

I gaped at him. "Everything?"

"Yup!" He exclaimed happily, obviously very proud of what he does.

It seemed so unreal. To memorize so many details and events of the world. So, he definitely would've remembered something as simple as a meeting between the two of us. I hardly remember it. I only had a feeling. If Lavi didn't remember, then it most likely didn't happen.

"Oh, we're here!" Lavi interrupted my train of thought.

"Yeah…okay, let's go." We met up with Kanda when we got off the train. Maybe this would be good. Since Kanda was also here on the mission, maybe I'd have another chance to become friends with him.

"K-Kanda?" I was a little nervous, considering what just happened yesterday…

"What?" He replied with a deadpan expression.

"Umm…well thanks. You know, helping me train and all..."

"Che."

I frowned, but suddenly came up with a crazy idea. It might have him hate me more, or maybe he'll be able to tolerate me. "Say Kanda…I'm half-Japanese!"

"So?" He spat out, crossing his arms.

"So…" I smiled innocently, "That kinda means you're like my nii-san!"

"It's _Kanda._ There's no way in hell you're calling me that."

"Okay…..nii-san." I giggled.

Lavi laughed, "That's cute. Can I call you that too, Yu?"

Kanda growled, "Shut up and let's go."

Our Finder finally spoke up. "We should begin our search now, correct?"

Kanda glared at him. "So where's the Innocence?"

He sweatdropped. "Oh, well I believe it's in that new fountain that arrived about a month ago. Ever since then, the town's water supply has depleted and the only available water supply has been this fountain."

Lavi chirped in. "So why didn't you just get the Innocence from the fountain?"

"I've tried, you see. But each time, akuma would manage to pop up. I would just barely escape with my life. That's why you three had to come here." Jim explained in a rushed voice. He seemed pretty on-edge.

"Fine, then lead us to the fountain." Kanda demanded.

He nodded and began to lead the way. It was only a few miles from where we arrived, so we got to see some breathtaking scenery. Despite the decreased water supply, Rome seemed very beautiful. Kanda didn't seem to be impressed though, but that's to be expected. Lavi looked as if he was observing the everyday activities of the townsfolk. After less than an hour, we reached the fountain. It was very grand and detailed. It was white with engravings of waves and many different Roman gods and goddesses. The one thing that stood out, however, was that it was overflowing with water.

"Well," Kanda glared at me. "Go get it."

I jumped. "What?! Why me?"

"Because you're the rookie here. If anything happens, I'll just cut them to pieces."

"Yu, don't be so mean to her. This is why you'll never get a girlfriend."

"Shut up."

I sighed and walked up to the fountain. I was a little nervous, but since Kanda and Lavi were there, I felt reassured.

I was at the edge of the overflowing fountain and still no akuma. I looked in and saw a little glimmering, green sphere and reached my hand in and grabbed it. I took it out and held it in my hands. It seemed very warm and welcoming. Much like the bracers around my hands. Yes, this was definitely Innocence.

"Alright, good job Rose!" Lavi grinned. He ran up to me and ruffled my hair...again. My cheeks starting to heat up from the close proximity between us.

"So, where are the akuma, Finder?" Kanda gave him his famous glare.

"But…all the other times I came there was-"

"WATCH OUT!" Lavi pulled out this mini hammer from the holster of his pants. Now that I thought about it, I had no idea what Lavi's anti-akuma weapon was like.

"Big hammer, little hammer! Grow." And the mini hammer shifted its size to a regular shaped hammer. "Grow! GROW!" And it was definitely not a little hammer anymore. It was absolutely huge! Before I knew it, he swung his hammer and smashed the akuma right behind Jim. He destroyed it so easily…

"Che. What a pain. Curly, don't just stand there." Kanda unsheathed his Mugen and ran at his lightning fast speed towards the akuma that started to accumulate around the fountain.

I stood there for a second, before actually taking in Kanda's words. "Right! Sorry…" I took a deep breath, "Okay, _'Hands of the Earth' _give me strength. Innocence, activate!"

* * *

**Stella: I hope the chapter wasn't too boring. But yes, there was definitely a meaning behind that accidental kiss. mwahahaha.**

**Rose: ...why...**

**Stella: You'll find that out later!**

**Lavi: strawberries...**

**Kanda: Oi! Don't just stand there! We have a mission here!**

**Stella: Well...you two better go before Kanda gets angry.**

**Lavi: Yu is always angry.**

**Kanda: Shut up baka usagi!**

**Stella: Well, since this is probably the last thing I put up on as a 16-year-old...you should leave me some birthday reviews please! :D**


	7. Level Three Times Three

**Stella: Chapter 7...revised...*pouts***

**Lavi: Got your wisdom teeth out today, huh? By the way, you're finally 17! And my birthday just passed too. (To anyone that didn't know :D)**

**Stella: *nods sadly* Mhmmm...I know. I spammed my tumblr with pictures of you...my mouth hurts...ice cream...**

**Rose: But on the bright side, at least you got this chapter done!**

**Stella: I'm so out of it, I didn't bother to check over it. I really just wanna make a new chapter. wahhhh!**

**Lavi: You sure aren't your enthusiastic self today. *pokes her swollen cheek***

**Stella: STOP THAT!**

**Rose: You two...*sighs***

* * *

It felt like we were fighting akuma for hours. It was only my second mission, so I wasn't exactly used to all this fighting yet. Kanda and Lavi were fighting the akuma without breaking a sweat though. Somehow, I felt like I was just slowing them down. Eventually, we were able to defeat all the level one akuma and my knees finally gave in and I fell to the ground.

"Are there…always…this many?" I asked in between breaths.

"N-no. Damn, I feel like I'm about to fall over." Lavi replied out of breath as well, but not as much as I was.

"Whatever. We got the Innocence. Let's go back." Kanda muttered. He took the Innocence from me. I glanced at him over at him to see he only had a few cuts, but his long hair was freed from the usual ponytail. It looked so silky and smooth. I really wanted to touch it, but I knew I'd be risking my own hair if I did. Seeing Kanda standing there looking totally unscathed made me want to be…stronger. Lavi was strong too, but Kanda just made everything look so easy. There was no amount of training I could endure to become like him anytime soon.

Lavi fell to the ground. "Yu! We're tired. Give us a break. Let's go to an inn so we can rest first."

"No."

I pouted. "Nii-san. Pleeeeaaaase! I can't feel my legs." If Kanda didn't let us find somewhere to stay for the night, I would probably end up crawling back to the train. I really wish I had his stamina, otherwise I don't think I'd be drenched in sweat. I wiped my forehead and gave him another pleading look.

He glared at us. "Shut up then and go find us a place to stay."

A small smile and escaped my lips and Lavi and I led the way with our Finder behind us and Kanda behind him to a nearby inn.

"So it seemed like you handled the fighting pretty well, but you still got a long way to go, huh?" Lavi grinned at me and ruffled my hair.

My cheeks began to heat up and I nodded. "Y-yes. Seeing you and Kanda out there gave me motivation. I need to be stronger too."

He stared at me with a questionable look in his eye. He blinked and let out a soft laugh, "Yeah, don't worry. You will be."

Soon enough, we found an inn and went up to our rooms. I had a room to myself and Kanda, Lavi and Jim shared a room. Once I got inside, I flopped onto the fairly huge bed and took the bracers off, but…

"Ahh!" I flinched back as soon as I touched it. It…it _shocked _me. I tried again, but I used the blanket from the bed to pull them off.

"Owww!" I yelped as part of it touched my skin, but I managed to take them off. I covered my mouth and glanced at the door. I threw them on the ground and I could see spark little blue sparks emanating from it.

'_Is that…supposed to happen? Is that what Hevlaska meant when she said not to push my limit? But I didn't feel like I was…'_

Then I heard a knock on my door. "Rose? Hey, are you okay?" The voice was Lavi's. I attempted to kick my bracers under the bed and luckily my boots were made of leather so I didn't get shocked that time.

"Y-yes. I'm fine." I replied a little more nervously than usual. It would be bad if anyone found out my Innocence was acting up, especially during a mission. I waited for him to say something, but he didn't. Just why was it shocking me like that anyway? I'm the accommodator, right?

"So are you going to let me in or do I just have to stand here all day?" He finally asked and I could hear the playfulness in his voice. It really amazed me how cheerful he could be at times like these. Maybe that just meant he was a very strong person, both physically and mentally.

"S-sure." I glanced at myself in the mirror before reaching for the door. My uniform had tears on the sleeves and the clip in my hair was slipping out, causing my hair to look sloppy. There were cuts and bruises on my arms underneath the jacket, although those didn't bother me too bad. But overall, I looked like I wrestled a bear. And it didn't look like I won, either.

"Ummm…" My hand stopped above the doorknob and I was debating whether or not to open it, but before I could dwell any more on it, the door swung open.

He flashed me a cheeky grin and ran a hand through his hair that fell free on his face. His usual headband was around his neck and he was dressed pretty casual. Without his regular Exorcist uniform, he looked like a normal teenager, especially with that happy-go-lucky look of his.

I cleared my throat and managed a small smile. "Yes? What is it?" Compared to Lavi, I felt a little out of place. I mean, I know that we just had to fight a whole horde of akuma, but it was pretty embarrassing when I was the one that looked the most scathed. I sighed and let him walk in.

He stepped in and scanned the room before turning to me. "I think I heard you yelling earlier." He said with a sort of serious edge to his voice.

My cheeks flushed from further embarrassment. I was starting to think that maybe I wasn't cut out to be an Exoricst. At least, not as much as he and Kanda. "Oh…" I debated whether or not to tell him about my Innocence, but I didn't want to worry him. "No, I'm fine. It's just a couple cuts and scrapes. Nothing to get worked up about..." I let out an uneasy chuckle that didn't seem to fool him one bit.

He didn't smile back though. "Here, let me see." Without warning, he pulled my arm and I was suddenly really close to him. His red hair brushed against my forehead and I…somewhat unintentionally inhaled the scent of him. He smelled…really good, like newly done laundry or something, but also welcoming. I couldn't exactly put it into words, but whatever it was, I found it alluring.

"Hmm…" He took a closer look at my arm and narrowed his single eye. "Alright, get on the bed."

"What?! But w-why – " I stammered, completely confused at his demand.

"I can't take care of your injuries while you're standing up, so sit on the bed." He deadpanned and pointed to the bed.

"O-oh, right!" I sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "Well, ummm…can't I…I don't know…clean myself up a bit?" I asked him and gestured to my torn clothes for emphasis.

He sighed and nodded. "Fine." Then he grinned, "I'll be waiting here then!" And he sprawled out on my bed taking up every inch he could. He looked up at me playfully and smiled widely, waiting for me to say something.

I attempted to glare at him, but to no avail. Again, his carefree attitude did not cease to amaze me. A smile made its way onto my face and I shook my head at the redhead.

"No way! Wait in your room! I'll come to you when I'm done, alright?"

Lavi smirked and sat up. "Aww, okay. Don't forget then~" I nodded to reassure him and he got up and left the room. Although I did enjoy Lavi's company, I could also use a moment to myself. But I'm thankful for Lavi because without him, it would just be me and Kanda. And I don't know if I could take on Kanda by myself. I shuddered at the thought and headed towards the bathroom.

I got out of my clothes and took the quickest shower I could, which was pretty difficult considering all the hair I had. My whole body stung from the cuts, but no one else was complaining, so I wasn't going to either. I finished and checked my backpack for spare clothes and found a note.

'_Dear Rose,  
I hope you don't mind, but I went and got most of your clothes from your house for you. Since you fell asleep after training so hard with Kanda, Allen-kun and Lavi suggested I should pack your bag for you since I'm the only girl. But I would've done it regardless! We're a family after all, right? I hope you do well on your next mission. Come home safely, okay?  
-Lenalee'_

My lips curved upwards as I read and reread the note. Lenalee must care so much for everyone at the Order. I hope I could learn to care so much for everyone as well. I slipped on my light-blue pleated skirt and white button up with a black cardigan to cover it up. I would definitely have to thank Lenalee for going to get my clothes from my old home in London later. Without her, well, I'd still be in a torn Exorcist jacket looking completely out of place. She was definitely one of the nicest people I'd met since becoming an Exorcist. The complete opposite of Kanda nii-san…

After placing the note back in my bag, I checked myself in the mirror one last time to see my visible cuts, but it wasn't as noticeable since it was cleaned up a little bit. I shrugged my shoulder and headed out the door to see Lavi already there carryying bandages in his arms.

"H-have you been here the whole time?!" I asked him disbelievingly.

He shook his head. "Nah, I got here five minutes ago. Kanda left somewhere and Jim fell asleep." He replied casually.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to just relax like this?"

Lavi shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. I mean, we got the Innocence. Our mission is basically over."

"If you say so…" I muttered under my breath. In some corner of my mind, I felt a little worried. As if there was something else that was coming. And my Innocence acting up like that earlier was nothing to take lightly either…

Lavi cleaned and took care of my cuts easily. I tried my best not to move, but it still stung a little. After placing one last bandage on my cheek, he held his hand there for a bit and smiled warmly at me. He sure did smile a lot.

"There we go! You feel better?" He asked me with usual cheerful tone. "It's not as neat as the old man would've done it, but I think it worked okay, don't you think?"

I felt my cheeks heat up again. He was really close to me…almost as close as he was on the train ride.

I completely forgot about that! I could tell more blood was rushing to my face as I remembered that…accidental moment.

I nodded while backing up on the bed and sighed. "Thank you, Lavi."

'_That was a little close…but he's treating my wounds so I guess I shouldn't complain. Not that I _**am **_complaining…' _But now my mind was drifting towards what happened during the train ride. I knew it was an accident, so why did it make me feel so flustered? And why did it seem like I've…_kissed _him before? I wondered what any of it had meant to him…

'_This is…annoying. I would've remembered before if I've seen him though. But now, it's not just his hair that makes him seem familiar, it was the way his…the way he…ugh, the kiss! It's so embarrassing to say it. It just doesn't make sense though. Surely, I'd remember my first kiss and so far, Lavi was the only guy I've….kissed…' _I grimaced at my own thoughts. It just felt weird to think about considering that Lavi and I had only met and we've already…yeah, I'm not going to say it again.

"Wanna get something to eat?" Lavi suggested, interrupting my thoughts.

I gazed into his emerald orb trying to call back any sort of memories, but nothing came. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly in frustration and he gave me a confused glance. I let out a sigh and forced a smile.

"Sure."

After putting on my boots, I headed out the door and saw Lavi talking to the groggy-looking Jim.

"We're getting a bite to eat. Do you want anything?" He asked Jim.

"No, but be careful. The water supply has gone back to normal and it's been flowing throughout all the waterways, but I would still be cautious." He paused and looked around the area cautiously. "Maybe you should take your weapons."

"I got mine." Lavi patted his little holster on his upper leg. Then he looked over at me.

"Oh, I'll be back." I replied nervously and headed back towards my room, making sure to close the door behind me.

'_What if…it shocks me again? I have to at least try. It's my Innocence after all, and I am its wielder.'_

I used to foot to take it out from under the bed and stared at it on the floor for a few seconds. Slowly, my hands made its way towards them and I touched the cool metal expecting to be electrocuted. Surprisingly, there wasn't any sort of shock. I slipped them on over my sleeves and met Lavi and Jim back in the hallway.

"Ready?" Lavi smiled at me and I managed to smile back halfheartedly. We waved at Jim and headed out to the streets of Rome.

I took in more scenery before Lavi tapped me on the shoulder to tell me we arrived. We went inside a pasta restaurant and he pulled out the chair for me.

'_Wow…he's so incredibly nice.'_ I could've sworn my heart skipped a beat. Sure, Lavi was a very nice guy and he was also handsome at that, but I couldn't let myself become attached to him. Not like _that _anyway. Not that I was…and besides, it would get in the way of my Exorcist duties. As well as Lavi's and his path to be the Bookman successor.

I sunk down in my seat and held the menu over my face, "So, are we leaving tomorrow morning?"

Lavi, busy reading the menu, nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan." Then he placed his menu down and looked over at me. Well, what he could see of me. I was too busy in my own thoughts. Thoughts about Lavi, my Innocence and Kanda's hair.

"Uh, so why're you covering your face, Rose?" He asked blankly.

I put the menu down slowly and laughed nervously, "I umm…just wanted a closer look at these pictures…I guess."

'_Ahh, I'm such an idiot. I can't stop thinking about that dumb kiss! And I don't want to come off weird if I ask him about it. What am I supposed to say, "Oh hey, Lavi. Have we kissed before?" Yeah, that won't work.'_

"I think that was close enough, don't you?" Lavi snickered.

I continued to stare at the menu on the table, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah…I guess."

After he didn't say anything, I decided to look up at him. His cheerful smile disappeared and was replaced with a serious expression.

"Rose, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

I allowed jade eyes to finally meet Lavi's emerald one, "Yes?"

"Have we-" All of a sudden, Kanda came bursting in with his Mugen in his hand.

"Get up and let's go." He sounded angrier than usual.

"But Yu, we're about to eat here. And what's the rush anyway?"

Kanda glared at Lavi. "A level three. That's what."

"Damn it, seriously? Right now?" Lavi sighed and got up.

I followed after him, but I wasn't sure what was going on. "Where are we going? What's a level three? I thought we got rid of all of the akuma."

Kanda and Lavi just stared at me. "Are you serious?" They said in unison. I just looked at them. Then, a loud explosion was heard outside.

"Shit. Come on, Rose. I'll explain on the way." Lavi grabbed my hand and he dragged me along as we ran behind Kanda.

"A level three is an extremely strong akuma. The ones we fought earlier were all level one. Akuma kill people to get stronger, so I'm guessing level threes kill hundreds of people at the least to get as strong as they are." He explained as we ran through the alleys and streets to get to the source of the explosion

"Lord Exorcists, over here! Follow me!" It was Jim. He sprinted ahead of us and led the way to the outskirts of town.

'_At least a hundred or more people? I…I don't know if I can do this. But I can't give up. If I do, I'll be letting everyone at the Order down. I'll be letting Lavi, Kanda and Jim down. And I'd also be letting dad down…"_

"Curly, quit daydreaming and hurry up!" Kanda yelled and I shook her head away from those negative thoughts.

"Don't worry, Rose. I'm here." Lavi grinned and I smiled back, finally feeling reassured.

'_I'll try my best for you dad…and everyone at the Order.'_

We finally arrived at the outskirts of town and it started snowing. The patches of brown and green grass began to turn white and the few trees gad a light dust of snow that caused the leaves to droop downwards.

"Wow, it snows in Rome?" I exclaimed and put my hands out to see little white flakes land on them. It melted on contact with my fingers, but not the metal bracers.

"Yes, but it's really rare. Come on, let's go." Lavi took hold of my hand again and we reached a big clearing that was just all dead grass.

A tall, dark-blue, humanoid-looking figure loomed over us. "Hello, Exorcists scum." The akuma did not hesitate to attack. It raised its arms up and its hands started sucking in all the snow that was falling. In place of its hands were now deadly looking and icy spears.

"Che." Kanda ran up to the akuma and started slicing away.

"My, my. You're pretty fast Exorcist. But that won't help you much longer." The akuma hit Kanda in his blind spot and knocked him on his back, but Lavi took this chance to whack him with his hammer.

"Too slow." The akuma laughed and threw Lavi back too.

"Three against one? That's not fair at all." The akuma's voice was very deep, like it was grumbling the whole time. It snapped its icy fingers and two identical looking akuma came to its side.

"I was hoping you'd let us in on the fun." Said the one on its left.

"Yeah, I was getting bored. And hungry." The one on its right agreed.

I gulped and activated my Innocence. A blinding light flashed and a familiar green slow surrounded my anti-akuma weapon. I felt a wave of panic, but I started running towards them anyway. My hands began to shake in fear, but I knew I couldn't just run away. It didn't help to see that akuma took Lavi and Kanda out so easily, but now I was the only one they could rely on.

"I call her! She's cute so she must taste delicious."

"Not unless I get her first!"

"No, me!"

I took a deep breath and sprinted closer to them, ignoring my previous injuries.

'_Oh dad, if you're watching over me right now…please give me strength to do this.'_

* * *

**Stella: Well...there you go...*falls over***

**Lavi: Oi, Yu! Come cheer up our author.**

**Kanda: Che.**

**Stella: *sobs***

**Lavi: *huggles* Aww, there there. Rose, come here! She's your creator after all.**

**Rose: Uhh, okay. *laughs nervously and hugs Stella-chan* I hope you feel better.**

**Stella: Well...reviews and thoughts and stuff would be nice...*sniff***

**Lavi: Well, you heard the girl! Review please and hopefully lighten up Stella-chan's day a bit.**


	8. Unstable

**Stella: I got this out way faster than the others...but that's probably cause it's the shortest chapter.**

**Kanda: All your chapters are pretty short.**

**Stella: Nu-uh! Not all of them! Stop making me yell, my face huuuuuurts!**

**Lavi: *pokes cheeks* **

**Stella: STOP THAT!**

**Rose: Please stop messing with Stella-chan, Lavi. She doesn't seem to like it.**

**Lavi: Ahh, okay...*messes Rose's hair up***

**Rose: *grumble grumble***

**Stella: *clears throat* Anyways...chapter 8 semi-revised! My cheeks hurt...**

* * *

**Third Person P.O.V.**

"Come on and play, Exorcists!" The main akuma started running towards Rose.

Kanda jumped in last minute before Rose could land a hit.

"K-Kanda?! What're you doing?" She exclaimed in both an annoyed and frantic tone.

"You're just a rookie. You don't know what you're doing!" Kanda held his katana up to the icy sphere. Lavi came in and used his Hellfire Stamp and was able to buy a little time before the other two akuma could attack. He conjured a snake made of flames that held the akuma in its place.

"You should probably be careful, Rose. These are level threes after all. It's bad enough to fight one, but three…" He trailed off with an unsettling edge to his voice.

Rose looked down at her trembling hands and wiped a tear away that was threatening to fall. "I-I'll try not to let you down…"

He sighed and sent her a nervous smile. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want anyone to get hurt too badly…"

Kanda jumped beside them and added on to the conversation. "So don't go and fight one by yourself, curly. Only I can do that."

'_Do they think I can't do this?' _Rose wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath. _'It _is_ our lives we're fighting for after all. I can't afford any mistakes.'_

"What's wrong? I expected a lot more from Exorcists." The akuma finally broke free from Lavi's fire seal and was rejoined by his two comrades.

No matter what they did, the trio just couldn't seem to finish them off. Together, they managed to send one flying to the other side of the empty field. Rosalie was being careful not to get scratched up too bad due to the previous fight. Kanda fought one on his own while Lavi and Rose took care of another. By herself, Rose wouldn't be able to hold her own against a single level three akuma. She wasn't as experienced as the other two Exorcists with her. Lavi made sure she didn't hurt herself too much, but he also had to focus on the attacking akuma. One of the akuma that they knocked across the field made its way back without any of the Exorcists noticing. It kicked Kanda up in the air and caught him by his ponytail.

Kanda growled, "Damn it, you bastard." The akuma threw Kanda towards the city.

"Yu!" Lavi's eye followed the flying Kanda and got caught off guard. The akuma used it to their advantage. The main akuma used one of his spheres and smashed Lavi into the snow. As they headed for Rose for the second time, she realized there would be no one to save her.

She saw blue sparks form around her weapon again and winced at the shock.

'_Owww. Bloody hell, not this again. But I can't stop now. I'm sorry Innocence, but my friends are in danger and I need to help them.'_

She took a look at the akuma and started heading towards them but…

"Lord Exorcist! Run away, I'll give you some time!" Jim ran into battle with his arms outs in a defensive position.

"No, Jim don't! I can take care of myself!" Rose protested desperately. "You're not an Exorcist, you can't defeat them…

'_But can I defeat them? Am I strong enough? I wish you could be here to guide me, dad…'_

Jim shook his head and grabbed Rose's shoulders. "I have to, Miss Rosalie. You need to live."

And those were his final words as the akuma pierced right through Jim's body in front of Rosalie. The white snow beneath him started turning crimson.

"No…" she whispered. She took an uneasy breath and let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Jim…NOOOOOOOOO!" Her world went blank. She had already seen her own mother and father die, but it the feeling still remained the same. And it was feeling she didn't want to relive. To be killed by an akuma was such a horrible thing to witness.

She looked up at the akuma with raging eyes. "Damn it. I swear I'll put an end to you!"

'_I can't stop now or Jim's death would've been in vain. Jim, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'_

Rose managed to hit the akuma that killed Jim, but the other ones grabbed on to each arm. She couldn't move at all and her Innocence was still electrocuting her.

'_No, I can't die. Not now. I need to be stronger than this. Please…someone…'_

Rose's eyes shot open at the sound of her one of her arms breaking. She screamed out in pain while the akuma laughed.

"Wow, such a weak girl. So easy to _break_." They threw her to the ground and the leader of the three stepped on her back, cracking a few ribs.

"No…" She whimpered weakly, "It can't end this way…"

Kanda, a few miles from the scene, was making his way back as fast as he could. He was scratched up pretty bad, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He knew Rose couldn't handle them by herself. She was completely inexperienced with anything stronger than a level one. If she fought them by herself, Kanda knew she had a high chance of not surviving the battle.

"Damn it. I need to hurry." He muttered annoyingly and sprinted faster towards the field.

"Stop." Rose whispered. She moved her right arm and fire started to form.

"Oh? She's still able to move? We'll need to break that arm too." The main akuma picked her up again.

Rose moved her arm forward swiftly, despite the excruciating pain she was in, and made contact with the akuma's icy scythe. A small circle of fire engulfed half of it and melted it away, causing the end of what was left of the arm to steam.

"D-damn you, Exorcist! Now you'll really pay!" He hissed in an infuriating tone. All three of them started walking towards her. Her arms started sending off little lightning bolts. She cried as volts of electricity surged throughout her body and forced her to shake involuntarily.

"Rose!" It was Lavi. He was cut up everywhere and there was blood dripping down his face, but he was determined to come between the akuma and Rose. He couldn't though, because the voltage of electricity was strong enough to shock him as well.

"Ahh! What the hell?" Lavi tried to get closer to her, but failed as he was forced to take a step back to prevent form getting electrocuted.

Rose continued to have spasms as she tried to stand back up. "NOOOO!" She screamed out in pain, causing Lavi to flinch.

The akuma closed in on her, but before they did…

A bright, bluish-white light emanated from Rose's anti-akuma weapon and caused a large, heated explosion that forced everyone to be knocked back a few feet. After everything settled down, Rose began to notice the snow underneath her started to turn red.

'_W-what's happening…? What is this? It's like my Innocence was acting on its own. Where did all this power come from? But now I feel really…weak.'_

The explosion was strong enough to kill all three akuma, but it left Rose in a life-threatening state. However, her life wasn't the only one in danger.

"Rose…" A voice whispered hoarsely. She looked down to see Lavi, who was clutching at his side.

She ignored whatever pain she felt and dropped to her knees beside him.

"Lavi? What…just happened? What's wrong?" She could barely speak. Blood was dripping down from her down her arms and falling into the snow. It was still causing her immense pain and her arms were paying the price. She noticed Lavi's pain, too. Blood was escaping his body from where his hand clutched his wound. His head was bleeding, too. There was blood…_all over_.

"Lavi…no, please no." She started crying. She couldn't control her tears, and they fell endlessly. The blood accumulated on the snow beneath them, just like when Jim died.

"Is this your blood…or mine?" Rose choked out, unable to move now. She looked down at the half-conscious Lavi.

'_What's wrong with me? I've lost blood before, so I should be fine. And Rose…she's crying so much. Is she crying for me? I wish I could tell her…not to worry, but I can't. I'm sorry, Rosalie…I can't hold on…much longer…'_

Lavi closed his eyes, passing out from all the blood loss. Rose started panicking, but then an idea came to mind. A desperate, dangerous one.

"He's still bleeding, but if I sear his wound…I have no choice. He'll die at this rate. Lavi, I'm so sorry." She murmured and moved away some hair from her face to concentrate.

She used her last bit of energy and seared Lavi's wound, but not without leaving a scar. More blood dripped down from her arms and Rose fell down into the snow, unable to hang on to her consciousness, but not before seeing a glimpse of long, dark blue hair.

"Curly…you're such a pain in the ass…" A voice muttered in an unsatisfied tone.

Kanda looked at his two unconscious comrades. He noticed the huge scar on Lavi and the blood that was still dripping down from Rose's arms. He tried to pry the bracers off of her, but gave up as they kept shocking him. As he went to go pick the two up, he noticed Jim's corpse lying in the snow. Letting out a weary sigh, Kanda threw his jacket over him and slung Lavi and Rose over his arms.

"Komui." Kanda angrily spoke into his golem.

"_Yes? What is it Kanda?"_

"I need Bookman and another Finder."

"_What? Why, what happened?"_ Panic could easily be heard in Komui's voice.

"Our Finder got himself killed and I can't carry all three of them back." He paused and sighed again. "These two dumbasses are more trouble than they're worth."

Komui hesitated in attempt to calm himself down. _"Alright, I'll send Bookman and another Finder right away. Please, just get the two somewhere where they can rest for now."_

"Che."

As they got closer to the city, Lavi's eyes fluttered open for a second and he smiled weakly at his friend, "Oh, hey Yu."

Kanda shot him a glare, "SHUT UP!"

* * *

**Stella: Ughh, I start school in less than three weeks. I haven't done my summer reading...and I need to get my license...Where did the summer go?**

**Kanda: What's this got to do with the story?**

**Stella: Stop being so mean to me! TxT**

**Allen: Am I eating mitarashi dangos on your screen?**

**Stella: Allen! *glomps* You're not supposed to be here yet! But yes, I've discovered shimejis! They're absolutely adorable.**

**Lavi: Hey, I see me climbing! Oh...and I just fell...*pokes cheek***

**Stella: I TOLD YOU TO STOP THAT!**

**Lavi: But your cheeks are so big and cute. Like a chipmunk.**

**Rose: *sighs* Why can't we all just get along?**


	9. The History Behind her Innocence

**Stella: Whoop! Two chapters revised in one night!**

**Lavi: But you edited this about a week or two ago...**

**Stella: Ugh, you just have to point out everything don't you?**

**Lavi: *pokes cheek***

**Stella: Stop...that...**

**Rose: You'd better stop, Lavi.**

* * *

I was dreaming, I think. No, it was definitely a dream. Mom and dad were still alive. That was enough proof to know it was a dream.

'_Rosalie, please don't be mad at me…' _Mom looked at me apologetically. Dad held her hand, but he looked like he was about to collapse.

'_For turning dad into an akuma?' _I asked her coldly.

'_Rosalie, there's something I wanted to tell you. You're going to become an Exorcist, just like I was. Please, I need you to be strong because you're also…' _Dad's voice sounded really weak. I tried to walk closer to him, but then…

'_No! Stay back. I don't want you to see me like this.' _Dad put an arm out, but then he fell to the ground.

'_Cassian! Hold on, I'll call Lord Millennium.' _Mom stood over dad's lifeless body and rubbed his back as if he could feel it.

'_Mom! Don't! You know what's going to happen! Dad doesn't want this.' _I yelled at her desperately, hoping to stop her madness.

'_I know what he wants, Rosalie. I'm very sorry. I hope you can forgive me one day. Keep on smiling, okay?'_

'_Get out of here, Rosalie. I…I don't want…to hurt you.' _Dad told me sternly and I turned to run away, but then I felt the cool familiar metal on my arms.

'_I have to do this…I'm sorry, mom. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you for this…but I'll always love you. You too, dad.'_ Suddenly, the whole house started shaking and I was falling. It seemed like I was falling for a really long time.

~…~

I woke up in a strange room with nothing but dark, gray walls surrounding me. My arms and hands, from my wrists to my elbows, were completely wrapped. I walked up to the door, which was the only thing in the room, and twisted the doorknob. It was locked. I looked around to see if there was another exit, even though I already knew there wasn't one.

'_Rosalie?' _My golem popped up beside me.

"_Rosalie, it's Komui. We had to keep you in that room because your Innocence…it became unstable. At least, that's what we think happened. We couldn't take your anti-akuma off ourselves though, so we had to use your own hands to pry if off…however..."_

I looked down and saw that even all my fingers were wrapped up. I started to regain what happened on that mission. How long ago was that? And…

"Komui-san, where's Lavi? Is he okay? And Kanda?!"

"_They're fine. Lavi's still in the hospital wing and Kanda is probably…sulking somewhere."_

I sighed in relief. "So, how did we end up getting back here? I don't really remember much after…my Innocence went unstable…"

"_Kanda found you and Lavi in the snow and brought you two to a hospital. Bookman met up with him and treated your wounds, but there wasn't much he could do with your Innocence in the way. So they brought you back here. Lavi regained consciousness the next day, but he still needs to rest, to be on the safe side. And then that's how you and your bandages came into play."_

"And what about…" I could hardly say it. "What about…Jim?" I managed to choke out.

"_We brought his body back here and cremated it. Don't worry, his death was not in vain."_

My eyes started watering a bit. "T-that's good. Are my bracers with you now?"

"_Yes. The science division is doing inspection as we speak. But how are you feeling, Rosalie?"_

I stared blankly ahead of me for a few seconds before replying, "I'm fine now I guess…but I…"

"_Yes? What's the matter?"_

"Can I go see Lavi? Please?" I needed to make sure he was okay. I wouldn't be able to think straight if I didn't find out soon.

"_Sure you can. We were going to let you out right when you woke up anyways. He's in the hospital wing. And Rosalie?"_

"What is it, Komui-san?"

"_Well, we're just all glad you're okay. Lenalee and Allen were very worried about you, but I told them you were doing alright now. We won't be sending you, Lavi or Kanda on a mission for a few more days so just take it easy, alright?"_

"Yes, thank you."

The door opened in front of me and I bolted right out. It felt colder than usual, but then I realized I didn't have any sort of shoes on or anything. Actually, all I was wearing was a long, white sleeveless shirt. Was this supposed to be a hospital gown? Despite that, I kept running until I reached the hospital wing. I only knew where it was since that was the first room I remembered being in when I woke up at the Order a few weeks ago.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Sure enough, there he was. I walked up to him, but he didn't seem to notice me. He was lying in bed with head turned towards the window. I got closer and then realized he was sleeping. As I got closer, I noticed how…_handsome _he looked. I never really looked at Lavi this close before. Well, except on the awkward train ride, but this was different. I could feel my cheeks heat up a little…

'_He…looks so peaceful. I hope he's not mad at me…what am I supposed to say to him?'_

Lavi slowly opened his eyes, or well, his _eye. _He looked up at me and smiled. His single emerald-green eye met my pair of jade-green eyes with a soft gaze.

"Look who's finally awake. It only took you about two days." He chuckled softly.

"You're the one who was sleeping…" I smiled back halfheartedly. "Lavi…are you alright?"

My eyes trailed over his whole body, which was covered in wraps and bandages.

"I'm fine, Rose." He sat up and put a hand on my shoulder. I blushed involuntarily at his warm touch. "But what about you? Your arms…" He reached down and slowly picked my hands up, but I took them away, wincing a little.

"You're still in pain, aren't you?" He looked me seriously. The way he was looking at me was strange. Was it anger or concern?

"I'm fine." I lied through my teeth and he was able to tell right away.

"Idiot…you could've died! You need to be more careful!" I could see him getting angry and I was a little taken aback.

"But you could've died, too! And everyone else in the city if I didn't do anything. I couldn't just stand there and do _nothing_! And Jim…he…he…" I felt my tears coming, but I continued. "I'm…stronger than you think I am…"

"That's not the point. If you knew your Innocence was acting weird, you should've told us. You weren't the only one fighting!" His voice started getting louder. When did this whole thing turn into an argument?

I tried to keep calm, but it was too much. "Why do you even care?!" I blurted out. However, after seeing that look in his eye, I regretted it.

**Third Person P.O.V.**

"'_Why do you even care?!'"_

She was right. Why did Lavi care anyway? For a second, it seemed as if he was forgetting his duties as the future Bookman. He wasn't supposed to have attachments, let alone _care _for a comrade, but somehow…it was different with her. It was as if seeing her suffer during the mission…wasn't the _first _time he'd seen her suffer.

"Lavi?" She looked at the redhead a little nervously. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that…"

He stared back at her for a couple seconds. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to words. He already knew what Rosalie said was an accident, so why was he thinking about it so much? These kinds of things weren't supposed to bother him.

'_I'm a Bookman, these kinds of things don't matter. And I've only known Rose for a couple weeks, so it's not she should mean anything to me. She's not that special.'_

He kept trying to convince himself of those words, but it just felt so hard to. Was it because of all the pain he witnessed her go through? Was it because that despite all the pain, she was still determined to fight for him and the rest of their teammates? Or was it because that she wasn't crying for herself at all, but instead she was crying for _him?_

'_I have to be prepared to watch my comrades fall and not be affected. They're only people I'm fighting alongside with for the time being They're just temporary.. Nothing more.' _Lavi gritted his teeth._ 'Why is this bothering me so much then? She's just...she's just one person. She'll probably be excluded from history one day, too…but why…Ugh, damn it, this sucks!'_

"Lavi…?" She called his name out again. "Please don't be mad. I'm sorry, really." She leaned in closer to make eye contact and her curls brushed his face. He inhaled the sweet scent of strawberries coming from her hair.

"I'm not…I was just…" Lavi sighed. Why was it so hard to talk to her now? Rose held her arm out. What was she planning to do…?

"Do you think you can wrap these a little tighter? I think they're getting a bit loose." She replied and moved her arm closer to him.

Lavi sweatdropped. So it wasn't a hug that Rose wanted. He sat up and pulled the bandages slowly, mindful of her injuries.

'_This is…going to be difficult. Just who exactly is this Rosalie Hinode anyway?'_

"Is that better? Your arm is still broken, right?" He finally said after tightening up the bandages. He ran a hand through his red hair and stared straight ahead for a few seconds, before turning to the quiet Rose.

"Y-yes. Ummm…Lavi?"

"Yeah?"

She wiped her eyes dry from the tears that were threatening to fall. "I-I'm sorry…about what I did to you…"

It took him a second to realize what she was talking about until he followed her gaze to the side of his torso. "Oh, this? It's nothing." He told her calmly and gave her a smile.

"But you were losing so much…" She paused and turned her eyes away, "…b-blood."

He ran his hand over it. "It's fine. And I think when it comes to losing blood, you get first place." Lavi chuckled softly, hoping to lighten her mood.

"Yeah, I guess so." She ran a hand down her arm and frowned. "Lavi, I'm really sorry. Everything that went wrong on the mission was my fault."

"Why're you blaming yourself? Look, things happen and these were just one of those times."

She forced a smile this time. "You're right. I'm sorr-"

"Stop it, Rosalie." He told her firmly and looked at her seriously. "You can't blame yourself for every little thing that goes wrong. It's not just _your_ burden to bear." He stated, surprising himself. Lavi and Rose stared at each other with great intensity in their eyes. Neither would say a word, but no words needed to be said.

Finally, Rose cleared her throat and smiled genuinely. "Thank you…"

"Yeah, no problem." He grinned and ruffled her hair with his good arm. The tension in the room was lifted, that is, until a certain someone slammed the door open and gave the two a murderous glare from the doorframe.

"Baka usagi. Curly. Komui's office. Now." Kanda spat out. Rose stared at him in bewilderment. He didn't have any scratches, cuts or bruises at all.

"Kay, Yu~" Lavi sang, much to his annoyance.

"Shut up." And he left without another word.

Rose looked back at Lavi and smiled nervously. They made their way down to Komui's office where he and Bookman were patiently waiting.

"Ahh, Rosalie. Lavi. I'm glad to see you two are doing better." Komui smiled at them warmly.

"Thank you, Komui-san."

"Old man, what're you doing here?" Lavi asked curiously.

The old, short man glared at Lavi and ignored that comment. "Miss Rosalie, it's good to finally meet you."

Bookman's eyes flickered with a sense of interest and familiarity.

"Oh, you too. Umm…"

"You may refer to me as Bookman." He said simply. Rose looked at him. He was a little shorter than her, had dark makeup around his eyes, and a single ponytail. When Lavi called him old panda, he must've really meant it.

"Bookman…oh! Like Lavi!" She gasped. Bookman showed the smallest hint of surprise and scowled at Lavi, who looked away, whistling. Rose turned back to the old man, inspecting him secretly…

'_I feel like I've seen this old man before. It's like the same feeling I have whenever I feel like I've seen Lavi before, too. It can't all be a coincidence, can it? And since Lavi's his apprentice, then it's definitely not a coincidence. Hmm…but where have I seen him?'_

"Correct. We are, to put it simply, recorders of history. I see you've already become…_acquainted _with Lavi." He shot Lavi another look.

He spoke so passively, something that made Rose on edge. She took slow steps to the couch and sat down with Bookman's eyes still looming on her.

"If my apprentice has made any _unnecessary_ advances towards you, I apologize in advance."

"Hey, you make me sound like some sort of weirdo!" Lavi protested. Bookman ignored him yet again.

"I see you two met difficulties on your mission regarding your Innocence."

"Way to put me out there gramps_…" _Lavi mumbled angrily to himself.

'_Unnecessary advances…?' _Rose gave Lavi a confused glance. His arms were crossed and he was grimacing at his mentor.

"Oh, yes." Rose looked nervous. "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I guess I don't fully understand all of the capabilities of my Innocence." She let out a weary sigh.

Komui shook his head. "No, I should apologize. I sent you the mission knowing fully aware that you were completely new to this. I misjudged it. I thought that since you had a good amount of training already that you didn't require a little…_extra_ preparation. Nonetheless, I was wrong." He looked over his papers again, pushing his glasses up.

"If I'm not mistaken, your Innocence is quite…_rare. _I don't believe the problem was because of her lack of experience as an Exorcist." Bookman looked over at Rose with a serious gaze. She stepped back a little, feeling uneasy under his stare.

Lavi glanced at Bookman. "Then, what do you think it is gramps? If it's not her lack of experience, there's only one answer; her Innocence. Why else would her anti-akuma weapon cause her that much pain if she's the accommodator?"

Rosalie shifted on the couch uncomfortably. "Hevlaska _did_ say not to push my limit. But I didn't think I was." She rested her chin on her palm, "I don't even know what any of this means."

They all sat in silence trying to think of the reason that caused Rose's Innocence to become unstable. Komui walked over to his desk and picked up a small, familiar box. He gave a sideways glance to Bookman, who nodded.

"Your anti-akuma weapon, dubbed 'Hands of the Earth,' was one of the _first_ weapons of the kind to ever be used in the _first_ war against the Earl of Millennium. So it is, in fact, many centuries old." Bookman explained, his facial expressing remaining apathetic.

Lavi took this opportunity to make a joke on the old man. "So I guess you were around when it was made, huh jiji?" For that, Lavi received a swift kick on the chest, which knocked him on the floor.

"Please ignore him for now, Miss Rosalie." Bookman apologized and continued on with the information. "Apparently, it was created when the Earth itself was first born. I'm not too sure of the details myself, but this was how it was made. The metal was from the very center of the Earth's core. It was heated and forged by the first fires…" Lavi and Komui looked at him disbelievingly, but Bookman sighed.

"I told you, I'm not sure of the details, but it's something similar to that." He continued, "And after it was reshaped into something more suitable, like bracers, it was submerged into the bluest waters to cool."

Rose pursed her lips together and thought out loud, "But then how does wind come into play with this? Not that...I've actually been able to conjure wind myself…or water…" She smiled sheepishly and let out a nervous chuckle.

"The 'Hands of the Earth' was created in different areas of the Earth. They say the wind led them to the certain areas that fulfilled the requirements to create the weapon."

Lavi groaned and looked at Bookman questionably. "Are you sure you heard that right? How can wind lead them to a certain area?"

Bookman glared at the latter and continued on, "I wasn't finished. All the elements used, including wind, contained small fragments Innocence. That's why the first user was easily allowed control over them, however…"

"The weapon doesn't contain Innocence anymore…" Komui finished. He turned to Rose and held out the wooden box. "Rosalie. I have a feeling we won't get any leads until you put these back on, but if you feel any pain at all, even a little, just take them off."

"O-okay, sure…" She took the box and opened it. Carefully, she picked up one bracer, half-expecting it to shock her, but it didn't this time.

"Lavi?" She beckoned for the redhead to assist her.

"I'm on it." He unwrapped her bandages slowly. Once they were all off of her arm, they all gasped.

"There…aren't any wounds. None at all. But that's impossible." Bookman studied the absence of scabs, wounds or cuts on Rose's arms.

Slowly, Rose put on the bracers and a sudden flash of light shined from them. The bracers started dematerializing until it was just two white circles that formed around her wrists. After that, the circles started turning black and remained as two, black metal bracelets tightly wrapped around her wrists.

"Rosalie!" Lavi worriedly called out to her, much to Bookman's disapproval.

"I'm fine, Lavi…" She held her arms up and looked at her wrists. "Wh-what happened…?"

Bookman took a closer look at Rosalie's arms. "So the weapon was trying to enter into her bloodstream. I suppose, to become _one_ with her. And the only way to do that was to infuse itself by causing that excess bleeding, allowing an opening for it so that the next time Miss Rosalie put on the bracers, it could easily enter through the openings. I believe it also shocked anyone else that came into contact with it because it didn't recognize that person as their user. Of course, to the non-users of Innocence, the shock would be worse."

"It sure w_as _worse." Komui muttered under his breath, remembering that time he touched Rose's weapon and it shocked him mercilessly.

"But how could it enter if there weren't any cuts there?" Lavi picked up Rose's good arm, speculating it.

"I suppose they are there, but they're very tiny. Like pores. The electric shocks she kept receiving must have caused little small holes to appear on her arms somehow and it needed to get rid of a good amount blood so it could seep in." Komui began scribbling notes down again.

"So…the shocks caused my arms to bleed? And I guess the fact that my weapon was trying to enter my bloodstream contributed to the pain I felt. It did feel like something was _melting _on my skin. I guess all that pain was preparing me for this. My arms do feel slightly heavy now…" She let out an annoyed groan and muttered under her breath, "Man…I probably gained a few pounds because of this…"

Komui looked at Rose seriously. "Rose, can you activate your Innocence?"

She nodded. "Yes. Innocence, activate!"

The black rings turned white, and the black metal of the bracers started materializing around her arms. The familiar shaped bracers reappeared and enveloped her arms.

"Can you take them off still?" Komui asked her. She tugged at them, but they refused to budge. Komui speculated the scene and scribbled down a few more notes.

"Interesting…" Bookman muttered.

"Ah, wait! So, I'm stuck with these on?" Rose gasped in horror. She didn't exactly enjoy the fact that metal was flowing in her bloodstream. That didn't seem…healthy.

"So it seems. But now her weapon is similar to a parasitic-type…" Komui studied Rose's weapon carefully, which was now deactivated. "I suppose the black rings around your wrists are there to represent the weapon, but most of it must be flowing in your bloodstream."

"But…" Rose started and inspected her wrists, now enveloped with the black metal, carefully. "You and Bookman said that the weapon doesn't contain Innocence. So how am I able to use it?"

"You mean it isn't obvious?" Lavi asked her honestly. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, waiting for his reply.. "Well…_you _contain Innocence."

"W-what?!"

Bookman nodded slowly. "It's true. I've heard many rumors about the weapon. No one is exactly sure how the bracers were able to survive till this very day, but since its first user, no other Exorcist has been able to wield its power, due to the lack of Innocence. You see, after the war 7,000 years ago, that weapon went a long time without a user and the Innocence eventually wore away, but the power of the elements it contained somehow remained. I suppose you are able to control it because your very own body contains Innocence."

Rose stared at him questionably and shook her head. "No. No way. How can that…are you sure…I don't…" She took a deep breath. "How is that even possible? That Innocence courses through _my_ blood? Is that hereditary or something?"

Lavi laughed and patted her shoulder. "You're really funny, Rose. You can't inherit a gene for Innocence. You gotta be a chosen wielder, remember?"

She rolled her eyes. "Right…I remember, but still…it seems unreal."

"Other Innocence-users _do _contain Innocence in their bloodstream. Allen Walker, for example. But his weapon comes from his own body, since the Innocence is infused with his arm. You, however, are different. No part of your body is used as an anti-akuma weapon." Bookman explained to her as best as he could. She nodded simply and frowned, still confused.

Komui shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rosalie. If we knew all the answers, you'd be the first to know."

"You know…" Lavi began, "In a way, your weapon _relies _on you. It's a bit different for us, see. _We_ have to rely on our Innocence because it's forged with our weapon. Your Innocence and your anti-akuma weapon are two separate things. You two wouldn't be able to work without each other."

"I…I guess it sort of makes sense." Rose half-lied. She lifted her arms up, which were now heavier than usual. After letting out a sigh, she turned to the three men.

"Don't worry, Rosalie. We'll do more research into this and notify you once we have the answers. For now, we'll place your Innocence in a new category; the blood type." Komui reassured her and scribbles a few notes down. "Well, that's all we called you down for. You may leave now."

Rose bowed her head and smiled at the three. "Thank you Komui-san, Bookman-san and Lavi. You've all been a great help. At least now I understand a little more about my Innocence. I'll be going now." She turned and left the three in the messy office.

Although Rose didn't see it, Bookman narrowed his eyes at her as she walked out.

"Lavi," Bookman took Lavi aside, "I'm going to ask you to keep a close eye on that girl. Her Innocence type was completely unknown until now. It could very well lead to an undiscovered chapter in history. And we need to look more into this _'Creator of Earth' _prophecy."

Lavi looked at him for a second, then replied, "Sure. You're gettin' old anyway, gramps so someone's gotta get work done around here." He grinned and received a kick from Bookman.

"Ow! You old coot!"

'_It seems avoiding her was inevitable,' _He glanced up at Lavi who was still rubbing his cheek. '_Lavi must not remember what happened all those years ago. It might very well come between his duties as my apprentice.'_

* * *

**Stella:I know, not the most exciting chapter. It's just basically explaining Rose's Innocence. I can't say I did well explaining everything either. Honestly, I didn't plan how Rose's Innocence would be all...important and stuff. I mean, I planned for it _to_ be important, just not _how. _But trust me, it'll be important later on! If anything...I'll probably rewrite that little part...*nervous laughter* Wow, i really need to plan these things out.**

**Lavi: You're such a good author...**

**Rose: Well, Stella-chan, I think it's pretty cool!**

**Stella: I knew I could rely on you, Rosie-chan! :D**

**Rose: Of course!**

**Lavi: So are you going to be able to finally write a new chapter?**

**Stella: Soon, hopefully. Well, I've done most of my editing for the story! It only took...about a month. xP I hope you all continue to read Innocent Heart! I'll try to have chapter 12 up soon. :D Please leave reviews and tell me what you think! My cheeks still hurt...**


	10. Hidden Past

**Stella: Well, chapter 9 was my last revised chapter! Yay! **

**Lavi: I'm glad you didn't decide to rewrite it.**

**Stella: Me too...but now this chapter seems kinda random. I really wanted to put Road in though.**

**Road: Yay~**

**Lavi: Ahh, get outta here!**

**Rose: Who's she?**

**Road: You'll see soon enough~**

**Lavi: Creepy...**

**Stella: Yay, I'm so happy I finished revising my chapters! yayayay! It took forever! Oh, and the whole Rose's hometown being supporters thing will play out soon enough. That's why everyone knew she was an Exorcist even though people outside the Order aren't supposed to know. Or something like that~**

* * *

I was sitting at the edge of my bed. Today was Christmas Eve, but I wasn't at all in the Christmas spirit. I don't even see how that was possible for me at the moment. I thought a lot about what Komui and Bookman told me, but I needed to know more.

It was crazy how much I just realized that I hardly knew _anything _when it came to Innocence. I knew it was used to fight akuma, but that was about it. I never knew there were so many different types. Dad never told me much about it…

_Dad._ Speaking of him, just what exactly was his story at the Order? Why did he quit becoming an Exorcist? Did he really quit? Or was it something else?

I grabbed my head and groaned. I needed answers. There was just too much going through my head right now.

I swung my door open and headed down to Komui's office. Most everyone I passed greeted me with a "Good morning!" It was a little strange, but Lenalee _did _say this was my new family. It gave me a bit of nostalgia to know that I'd be spending Christmas with this new "family" of mine, but at the same time, I didn't mind.

After a few more twists and turns, I made it to the Chief's office. I stepped inside, but nobody seemed to be in there.

"Hello?" I called out a bit hesitantly. No answer.

I walked around and tried to avoid stepping on the papers, but to no avail. They literally covered the whole floor. After calling out a few more times, I gave up. As I started to leave, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

It was an old dirty notebook. The leather that enveloped it was cracked and it was extremely dusty. There was a golden lock, however, and it was still shiny as if it was just added on, but broken like someone was trying to open it I took a closer look and I gasped as I read the name.

'_Cassian Hinode? This is dad's…!'_

I picked it up instantly and ran out of the office. I made my way to a secluded area, but I had no idea where I was. That didn't matter to me right now though, what was the important thing was this diary.

I held it gingerly and inspected the lock. I turned through the first pages. Most of it was summaries about missions he was on. It was incredible how strong my dad was. As I turned through more pages, one particular page caught my eye. It wasn't about missions or Innocence or akuma.

It was about _me._

'_September X, 18XX._

_I'm grateful for these are one of the rare days that I am able to come home and visit my family. Rose started school today, but she didn't seem to enjoy in the least. It seems as if she got bullied by the other kids in her class, but she told me she met one boy today that she became fond of. Rosalie said the boy didn't have a name and that the old man with him was called Bookman. That only means that the young boy with him is his successor. Members of the Bookmen clan are not supposed to feel or become attached, but Rosalie already seems to like this boy very much. I'm afraid I cannot take away Rose's only friend.'_

I stared at the page in disbelief. I remembered the first few days of school being a bit…unpleasant, but I don't remember meeting a boy and…Bookman? How was that even possible? I flipped over to the next page.

'_November X, 18XX_

_Rosalie and the boy have become a great deal closer. She tells me and Kaname everyday how much she loves the boy. I've never see a friendship deeper than theirs and at such a young age. She gave him the name "Flame" because of his bright red hair.'_

I dropped the diary and gaped at it before picking it back up. Bright _red_…hair. There was absolutely no way.

'_There's no doubt. He is Bookman's apprentice, but why are the two still lingering around in this small town? It is true that most everyone in this town are supporters of the Order, but there is no war going on here…so why? I've decided that I shall approach the Bookman tomorrow. Right now, I'm not sure what I should do about Rosalie and the boy.'_

My eyes scanned to the next page.

'_December X, 18XX_

_Bookman and his apprentice are taking their leave tomorrow. I've managed to cover the truth about Rosalie from them for three months now. Rosalie seems to be very happy these days. I've never seen her so happy before. I wonder what will happen when she hears that Flame will be leaving.'_

Just as I was about to flip through another page, a hand touched my shoulder.

"Rosalie…what are you doing?" I looked up to see Komui, who had an unusual serious expression on his face.

I gulped, trying to hide the diary. "Umm…nothing K-Komui-san. I guess I should get going." I got up and tried to make my way past him, but he grabbed my shoulder again.

"Well, what's that behind your back?"

I sighed and gave in. He took the notebook from my hands and his eyes narrowed. He pushed his glasses up and began to walk past me.

"Wait! Komui-san!" I called after him. There was no way I was letting him get away without giving me answers.

He turned around slowly. "Yes…Rosalie?"

"Don't you think…I deserve an explanation?" I asked nervously, but I was determined to get what I needed to know.

He stared at me for a few seconds before answering, "There's nothing to say. Please don't take things out of my office without informing me."

My face started to heat up and my voice got louder. "Well, you shouldn't hide things from me!" I paused and looked at Komui's astonished face. "That's my dad's diary, isn't it? Don't you think I deserve to see it? You've been hiding things from me all this time. And Bookman, too. Somehow…somehow me and Lavi are connected to each other and I need to know why!"

Komui turned his back towards me and continued to stroll down the hall. "You'll know when the time's right…"

"But you _always _say that. Please…I need to know…" My voice was a whisper now and I felt water building up in my eyes.

"You'd be better off not knowing…" He stopped walking and glanced at me. "Right now is not the time. Just trust me, okay?"

I nodded reluctantly. After watching him walk away, I began to make my way towards the cafeteria. There were so many thoughts going through my mind. Was it really Lavi my dad was talking about? But he said _Bookman_ and his _apprentice._ His apprentice had bright red hair. It was definitely not a coincidence. It was definitely Lavi.

But why didn't I remember any of this? There's no way I could forget hair like that...and I could never forget someone I loved.

Wait…did I…_love _Lavi back then? But it was surely a platonic kind of love. Little kids don't really fall in love. What did that even feel like?

A familiar voice broke my thoughts. "Hey, there."

I met the young man's gaze. "Lavi…" My eyes darted to the bright red hair. Lavi would've remembered if we've met before, right?

"Hmm, something wrong?" He asked me coolly. I realized I was staring up at his hair way too long.

"No, not…really…" I answered halfheartedly. I gave him a sideways glance and made my way towards Jeryy to get some food.

I grabbed my tray and began heading towards my room. I heard Lavi call my name out and I gave him a little wave before leaving. He gave me a curious look, but I turned back around before I could see anything else.

I shut my door, but not even a few seconds passed before it opened. I half-expected it to be Lavi, but instead…

"Lenalee."

She gave me a gentle smile, "Rosalie-chan. How are you?"

"I'm fine…" I lied.

"Really?" She looked at me questionably.

"Y-yes. Why do you ask?"

She sighed, "It just seems like there's been a lot on your mind.

I didn't answer her. She was Komui's little sister, after all. Maybe she knew everything about _me_ that I didn't even know.

As if she read my mind, she gave me a small smile. "Brother…told me about earlier. I understand if you're angry at him, but he's doing it for you safety."

I furrowed my eyebrows together. "And how in the world is this keeping me safe? If anything, it's just showing me I can't really trust him!" I covered my mouth right after I blurted that out.

Lenalee gasped and I looked at her apologetically. "No, t-that's not what I meant. I just…I just…" I gave up and fell down on my bed.

"I just don't know…" I began. "Lenalee…I don't know anything when it comes to the Order or Innocence or akuma. And I really want to. And then…there's…"

"Hmm? What is it?" She put her hand over mine, "I know my Brother doesn't seem…trustworthy right now. But you can trust him, really. This is all for your sake. I don't really know the details myself, but just know you can trust me, too."

My eyes met hers and I could see the kindness and understanding in her eyes.

I nodded. "Okay. Thank you Lenalee, really."

So I told her everything that Komui and Bookman told me about my Innocence and everything I read in Dad's diary. I told her that the boy that Dad was talking about must've been Lavi and she nodded and seemed to understand.

"What do you think?" I asked her after I finally finished telling her the whole story.

"It seems...crazy." She paused and looked at me seriously. "Are you going to ask Lavi about it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I suppose I shouldn't really say anything about it since Komui-san didn't really want me to know anyway…"

Lenalee got up and held her hand out, "Hey, why don't we do some Christmas shopping? It'll help get your mind off these things. Plus, you should be relaxing anyway."

I looked up at her sudden cheerful expression and let her take my good arm. "R-right now?"

She nodded. "Yeah! We can't let Komui know though."

"Why not?"

She turned to me with a serious look in her eyes, "Well...it's not like he's letting_ you _know everything..."

Lenalee began walking towards my door and I stared at her for a few seconds before following her outside my room. Maybe a little bit of the Christmas spirit could start to reach me.

The town we went to was very close to the Order. It seemed like a nice peaceful town, but Allen and Lavi warned me that I should always be alert, no matter where I was.

"Hey, this store looks neat!" Lenalee chirped from beside me. I went inside the store with her and watched as she picked out a new tie for Komui. I tried to look as interested as I could, but it was harder than it seemed.

"Uh, Lenalee I'm going to go look somewhere else, okay?" I told her unsurely and left the store. She gave me a worried glance, but then told me to meet up with her in twenty minutes.

I decided to do some shopping on my own and managed to get a few things for the others back at the Order. It definitely felt strange shopping for them, but they _were _my new family, right? That same feeling of nostalgia washed over me again.

"Hey there, miss." I turned around and saw a man in about his early twenties smile at me.

I gave him a nervous smile and began walking away.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Umm…I have to meet up with someone soon."

"Who? Your boyfriend?" He grinned.

I shook my head, "N-no, just my friend. Now if you'll excuse me."

But he grabbed my arm before I could leave. I winced at the sudden pain and tried to pry his hand off with my good arm. However, it didn't seem like he was going to let up anytime soon.

I sighed wearily, "Is something wrong…_sir?_" I gritted my teeth.

"Yeah, there is." He pulled me closer to him. Too close, in fact. "Let's have fun. Just you and me, savvy?"

As if on instinct, the black rings around my wrists turned white and the familiar metal braces starting forming around my arms. The man finally let go of my arm and backed away, but I saw a smirk on his face.

"Exorcist." I saw a strange evil glint shine in his eyes and in that instant he transformed.

"Akuma…"

"That coat is what attracts us, miss. You should be more careful next time." His voice sounded higher this time and his body was now a big grey blob that had guns sticking out in every direction.

'_Even on Christmas Eve. I guess Allen was right when he told me akuma could be anywhere. But right now, I need to protect these people.'_

Just before I could attack, a pair of pigtails flew by my way and kicked the akuma up into the sky where it exploded. I covered my eyes and waited for the debris to settle. After opening them, I turned to meet a familiar gaze.

"Thanks…Lenalee." I mumbled.

She gave me a small smile and placed her hand on my shoulder, "It was nothing, really. We should be more careful or – "

"Lenalee! Rose!" Two voices cried out in unison. I turned and saw a head of white hair and a head of red hair running towards us.

"A-Allen-kun? And Lavi? What're you doing here?"

Allen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Umm…nothing really. Just uh…"

Lenalee let out a sigh. "Let me guess. My brother told you to look after us, huh? Geez…"

"Well can you blame him?" Lavi said, a little too cheerfully. "After all, this town is no exception for the akuma that could be lurking around. And he said something about how he doesn't want his 'precious Lenalee' to be stolen away on Christmas Eve." He snickered and Lenalee glared at him. " But I see you've got it under control." He put his miniature hammer back on his holster.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Allen asked me, his silver eyes showing worry. I nodded and deactivated my Innocence.

I turned to Lavi. Other than the red hair, nothing about him seemed to strike up anything from my past. But it was definitely him dad was talking about in his diary. Who else would it be?

He ruffled my hair. "Let's go back, kay?"

My cheeks turned slightly pink. "Yeah."

We started heading back to the Order and right as we got to the outside of town, I noticed this strange umbrella on the ground.

"Lero…Road-tama, that hurt lero." I jumped back. Did that umbrella just...talk?

A girl, around twelve or thirteen, giggled and picked up the umbrella. It had a small pumpkin head and it looked like it was frowning. The girl was wearing some sort of gothic lolita-looking outfit and her hair was styled a short, spiky dark blue. Her skin was quite pale and she was pretty short. Shorter than me, even.

She smiled a sort of sickly sweet smile at me. "Hi there~"

I returned her smile with a small one. "Umm…hello…"

In just one second, her smile turned into a scowl. "You know…you were never supposed to be one of _them."_

I flinched back. "W-what?"

Her scowl left as fast as it came and she replaced it with that smile again, "An Exorcist, dummy~" She started to spin the umbrella in fast circles. "I'll be seeing you soon~"

"Rose! C'mon, hurry up!" I turned around and saw Lavi waving his arms around.

I turned back around, but the mysterious girl was gone. I blinked. Just what was that about anyway?

I groaned and headed towards the group. "None of this makes sense!"

* * *

**Stella: At first, I really didn't like this chapter. But the ending was fun to write.**

**Road: Duh! Cause you get to write about me.**

**Stella: You know...I honestly don't like the Noah family...but they're cool to write about.**

**Road: I'm going to kill you...**

**Stella: *gulps* I mean, as in, I'd rather be an Exorcist...but your powers are cool and...and...and...*dodges flying candle***

**Lavi: Big hammer, little hammer! Grow grow grow! **

**Rose: Hands of the Earth, give me strength! **

**Stella: No, stop fighting! Please! Let's just all get along here and-**

**Rose/Lavi/Road: Shut up!**


	11. Bad Dreams

**Stella: No chapter revising, just some a/n editing! I really like this chapter. :) It was so...exciting to write! And now that I revised the other chapters, I finally get to write about the encounter with Road in the next one.**

**Lavi: I'm so proud of you Stella-chan. You stuck with revising the old chapters till the end!**

**Rose: And your writing has...somewhat improved.**

**Stella: *shrugs* more so then in the old chapters, I guess. Hopefully I can write about this one tomorrow! And hopefully my cheeks won't be huge.**

**Lavi: *Moves to poke her cheek***

**Rose: *slaps his hand away* Stop doing that to her!**

**Lavi: Awww, are you jealous~**

**Rose: *blushes* W-what?!**

**Allen: I'm on another mission with Rose! Ha! Take that Lavi!**

**Lavi: You sound like Yu, moyashi~**

**Allen: It's Allen! :P**

**Miranda: Let's get on with this chapter, shall we?**

* * *

About two weeks have passed ever since that strange encounter with that girl and the talking umbrella. I would keep replaying the memory in my head, especially since I've been having nightmares right after that happened...It's been the same nightmare each night too, but it still never ceased to wake me up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Anyone else would jump up from a pretty disturbing dream where some strange, yet elegant looking man was ripping their heart out. And the whole time, that girl was giggling at me as if she was watching some sort of comedic movie. The two didn't say anything either, except that they were from the "Clan of Noah." I didn't know anything about that clan or why they wanted to rip my heart out, but those dreams would claim me as soon as my eyes closed. Today was not an exception.

"N-not again…" I gasped as I clutched my heart and breathed a sigh of relief when I felt its familiar heartbeat. Well, except it was beating faster than usual, but that's to be expected after waking up from those bad dreams.

I looked outside my window to see that it was still dark outside. The full moon left a luminescent glow in my room. In a few hours, I'd be leaving for my next mission with Allen and Miranda to go to Switzerland. My arm was already completely healed even though it was just broken two weeks ago. Komui claimed it had to do with the Innocence running through my body…but he wouldn't say anything more about. He wouldn't even explain the diary entries I found. It still seemed like he was keeping secrets from me.

There was no way I could go to sleep at the moment, so I decided to head towards the cafeteria. Maybe some water would calm me down. No one else seemed to be awake, except for Johnny, Tup and Reever who were still doing late-night work thanks to Komui.

"Eh? Rosalie, what're you doing up? You should be resting for you mission!" Johnny told me with a serious tone.

"Oh, I uh…" I began nervously, "I…was just getting something to drink, that's all!"

He nodded, but still didn't seem reassured. "Well, okay. We're just finishing up here. Good luck on your mission later."

"Thank you, Johnny-san. And good luck with your work too." I waved goodbye to them and continued on to the cafeteria.

After getting my glass of water, I sat down at one of the tables. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped a bit. I turned around to see a certain someone with a mess of red hair grinning at me.

"Lavi…?"

He was sitting by a pile of books stacked up beside him. They weren't just regular books though. They looked like ancient textbooks that were found in some ruins or something. And he didn't look the greatest either. Lavi had scratches on his arms and bandages wrapped around his wrists and one on his cheek. His hair fell freely onto his face which probably hid some more of his injuries.

Kanda and Lavi were sent straight to a mission right after Christmas, but Komui suggested that I should still wait. My arm was in a good enough condition to go on a mission, but Komui just muttered something about me being stubborn…but I knew better. He was still doing research on my Innocence which was why he was reluctant to let me go. I told myself I'd wait until he had my answers, but I wasn't going to wait forever.

"Hey, there. What're you doing up this late?" He closed the book in his hands and placed it onto the stack.

"I was really thirsty." I poorly lied.

Lavi raised his eyebrows at me. "Yeah, says the girl who didn't even take a sip of that large glass of water." He chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"Well...why are _you _still up?" It _was _pretty strange seeing Lavi up this late. Almost everyone at the Order knew how much he liked to sleep. That's basically all he did when we came back from our mission.

"Ahhh, the old panda wants me to read these books by tomorrow. I'm almost done though, so it's no big deal." He replied nonchalantly, like reading those huge books were nothing.

"Wow…" I gaped at him. "Those are a _lot _of books. I didn't know you could read so much, Lavi."

He pointed to himself. "Future _Bookman._"

"R-right." I smiled sheepishly. I still didn't know exactly what that meant, but then again, I didn't seem to know what a lot of things meant. I never asked Lavi about what I read in Dad's diary. I decided that I'd wait for Komui to tell me about it. Strange…everything that I wanted answers about all seemed to depend on waiting for Komui. Still, I still wanted to know.

"You're going on a mission later, right?" He suddenly asked me, interrupting my thoughts.

I brought my head up and replied, "Oh, um yeah. With Miranda-san and Allen…" My eyes slowly lingered onto his hair.

"That's right. You're going to Switzerland, huh? More Innocence? That's good, I guess…" He said passively and reopened his book. His single eye scanned across the page really fast. Faster than most people, I would think.

I couldn't take it anymore. I _had _to know!

"Lavi."

"Yeah?" He replied, not looking up from his insanely huge book.

"Do we – " I paused and took a deep breath. "Is your hair naturally that color?" I blurted out and mentally facepalmed myself. That didn't go as well as I thought.

He took his eye off the book and met my eyes with curiosity.

"Umm, excuse me?"

I felt the blood rushing to my face. That was definitely not what I wanted to say, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to ask him. Was it because of what Komui said or was I just scared to find out? What was there to be afraid of anyway? I sighed and took a sip of water.

"Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure my hair's been this way since I was born." He chuckled nervously and replaced his book on his stack. "Hey, I'm heading back to my room to get some sleep. You should too."

I nodded and got up right after him, but I wasn't so sure about going back to sleep.

'_I'll have another bad dream. I might as well just wait until the train ride to sleep. I don't think I can handle another encounter with…'_

"The Noah Clan…" I muttered to myself.

"What did you say?" Lavi asked. I was surprised at myself for saying that out loud. He looked at me seriously and it made me a little uneasy.

"N-nothing. Just – " Before I could say anything more, he cut me off.

"You said the Noah Clan. What do you know about them?" He pressed. It was totally strange seeing him act this way. He seemed extremely distant and his face was blank, no traces of a smile or frown.

I had to swallow this lump in my throat before answering, "Ummm…nothing." I told him honestly. I was speaking the truth though. I really _didn't_ know anything about them.

"Rosalie." He said in a solemn tone. The uneasy feeling I had only grown. I realized he only said my full name when he was being serious. And I'm guessing this was an important subject to him, but for some reason I felt…afraid.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I really don't know anything." I headed down the hallway to my room before he could say anything else.

It seemed like right when I closed my eyes, I had to open them right up. But, those few hours of sleep weren't so disturbing since I didn't have that nightmare again. Maybe this was a good sign. At least, that's what I told myself.

I hopped out of bed and put my uniform on. My fingers traced over the Rose Cross; the emblem of the Black Order. It's what attracted akuma to Exorcists…like me. It was still hard to accept that I was an Exorcist, but I finally did accept it. There were still a lot of things I needed to know about being one and I decided that I would find these answers out for myself little by little. Komui kept telling me I'd have these answers "when the time is right," but what if that time never came?

I shook my head and headed towards his messy office to meet up with Miranda and Allen.

"Good morning, Rosalie-chan!" Miranda greeted me cheerfully. I personally didn't know Miranda that well, but she seemed like a very sweet lady, despite the fact that she panics about almost…well, everything.

"Good morning, Miranda-san." I sent her a smile and walked over to where she, Allen and Komui were standing.

"Hey, Rose."

"Hi, Allen."

"Ahem," Komui cleared his throat and prepared to read from a piece of paper in his hands. "You three will be going to Switzerland with the Finder, Toma, and when you arrive in Switzerland, you will meet up with another Finder, Lau."

"Are we supposed to locate Innocence?" Allen wondered out loud.

"Well, it may come to that." Komui said, then looked at all three of us seriously. "But that might not be the case. There has been a dramatic increase of akuma in that area, but we believe the cause might be…" His eyes lingered on Allen for a second before he continued, "Well, we believe General Cross is there."

Allen deadpanned, "M-my master…?"

Komui nodded his head. "Yes. Now, Allen don't be upset, but – "

"No! No way am I going! You can't make me! I don't want to see Maaasttteeer!" Allen tried to run out, but was grabbed by Komui who dragged him back inside the room.

'_W-what's gotten into Allen? Is there something wrong with this General Cross guy?'_

"Don't be like that, Allen! That's why Miranda and Rosalie are accompanying you." Komui grinned and patted Allen on the head.

"Fine, but why do we need to find him anyway? And how is he the reason more akuma are showing up there?" Allen muttered angrily and crossed his arms.

"Because…well, you know, he's been _missing _for quite some time now. And we're not exactly sure why…" Komui laughed nervously. "But we had recent reports of Cross being spotted there. Well, if you don't have any more questions, then you three should best be off!"

Allen muttered something incomprehensible before he stormed out with Miranda and I following suit. We stepped inside the train and sat silently. I hardly heard any of what Miranda and Allen were saying before I drifted off to sleep. That same nightmare didn't fail to haunt me.

Where exactly was I? I was always surrounded by the same white buildings. And I would run endlessly until my legs were literally screaming at me, but I had to get away from my pursuers. What did they want from me? That same, young girl was hovering above me on that strange, talking umbrella while that man with the top hat was casually strolling behind me. I tried to call out for help, but no one was there to answer my desperate pleas. No one was _ever _there to rescue me, no matter how many times I cried out. Eventually, I would meet a dead end and the duo would corner me. He summoned this strange, dark-purple butterfly and lunged for my heart. He wrapped his hand around it and –

"NO!" I screamed and jumped up from my sleeping position. Allen and Miranda jumped as well and sent me worried looks.

"Ahh, Rosalie-chan…is something wrong?" Miranda hesitantly reached her arm out, but I shook my head. Although, I was pretty sure my facial expression gave everything away.

I took in long, deep breaths to calm myself down. But that time, it seemed so _real. _Why was this happening to me? I hugged my knees and sighed.

"Don't worry about me." I forced a smile for them. "I-it was…just a bad dream, I guess."

"Maybe you're just nervous. Don't worry, we'll be there soon." Allen told me. I looked into silver eyes for reassurance, but even he seemed nervous.

After that, the rest of the train ride was silent. I guess I fell asleep for most of it since neither Allen nor Miranda really had much to say. That, or they were just on edge as I was. I stared at my wrists, which was wrapped with the jet black metal that was my Innocence. That reminded me…

"Miranda-san!" She jumped, a little too much, and looked at me. "I never got to ask, but what's your anti-akuma weapon like?"

"Oh, it's called Time Record." She pointed proudly at the disk on her arm. "It's not really used for fighting, but I'd like to think it's a great help."

I stared at it in awe and I think Miranda took my silence as some sort of disapproval.

"Ahhhh, I'm sorry! I know I should be fighting too, but my Innocence isn't capable of it! I'll try to help you and Allen the best I can! I'M SORRY!" Her screams of panic reverberated throughout the small cabin, causing me and Allen to cover our ears.

"M-Miranda-san, no. That's not what I meant! I just didn't know what to say because…" I tried to yell over her cries. "Because! I think it's really unique!"

She finally stopped and looked at me through tear soaked eyes. "R-r-really?"

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah. What else does it do?"

"It does all sorts of things," Allen stated. "There's this thing called Time Recovery where she can set up some sort of field where anything or anyone in it will recover and heal. It's a great help right, Miranda?"

She nodded happily. "Yes, but it's only temporary. If I deactivate my Innocence, then time will catch up and the wounds and damages will return. If…if someone were to die while in the Time Zone, they'll come back alive but…I'm afraid that after I deactivate it, it will not be able to bring that person back to life." She frowned and I put a hand over hers to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Miranda. It was a great help when Lenalee and I found you and we had to fight against that Noah." Allen reassured her and gave her one of his sweet smiles.

My eyes widened and my heart started racing. "Did you say…Noah?"

"Yeah…she gave us a lot of trouble, but if it wasn't for Miranda's Innocence, we might not have made it." He smiled at Miranda, who returned it with a small smile of her own.

I pursed my lips together. "That's good…" A frown slowly made its way onto my face.

Allen noticed my uneasiness and asked, "Do you know anything about the Noah Family, Rose?"

I shook my head. "Not a clue, but from how you describe it, they seem pretty dangerous." The lump returned in my throat.

"Yeah, they are. It would definitely be unlucky if we ran into them."

Before we could continue our conversation, we arrived. We got off the train and headed straight into town. There didn't seem to be any akuma anywhere, according to Allen's left eye. At least, there weren't any of them there _yet._

As we got to the heart of the town, a sweet _sickly_ giggle rang through the air. Miranda, Allen and I looked up at the girl that was standing on top of the water fountain. She was wearing another gothic-lolita type outfit and the umbrella she usually carried was replaced with a giant lollipop. I felt the air suddenly tense up and Allen activated his anti-akuma weapon right away.

It was _her._ The Noah that I met in the town near the Order. The one that's been haunting my dreams these past two weeks. Her words instantly played in my mind.

'_You were never supposed to be one of _them._'_

"I told you I'd see you soon. Have you been getting the dreams I sent you?" She giggled and jumped down in front of me. Allen and Miranda stared at me in complete shock.

"Uhh…" I was at an absolute loss for words. Fear and panic overtook my body and she took the silence as a yes.

She smiled widely and waved her lollipop in front of me. "That's good…_Rosie-chan._"

I wasn't even going to ask how she knew my name. I gulped and finally found the voice to speak.

"I guess…dreams really do come true."

* * *

**Stella: I love the cliff hangers I'm doing. I'm now officially excited for the rest of my story...even if no one else is...**

**Rose: Weren't you excited about it before?**

**Stella: Okay, I guess I'm _re-_excited then. Better?**

**Allen: Mitarashi dango~ The shimeji version of me is eating some on the bottom of your screen again!**

**Lavi: And I'm climbing on top of your screen! I look so cool!**

**Miranda: Aww, how cute!**

**Rose: Why isn't there one of me? *pouts***

**Stella: I'm sorry, Rosie-chan! If I were any good at drawing...I'd make you one...but I wasn't gifted with drawing skills.**

**Kanda: Or writing skills...**

**Lavi: Yu! When did you get here?**

**Kanda: I've been here.**

**Stella: Wow...this a/n is really long...anyways...**

**Miranda/Allen/Rose/Lavi/Kanda(forced): Please review! n_n**


	12. Fated Encounter

**Stella: Yeah! Now that I finished revised my older chapters, I finally made a new chapter!**

**Allen: Whoa, this one seems intense. o_O**

**Stella: Oh, it is~ I apologize in advance for my poor action writing. I'm just no good at it.**

**Road: Yeah, I can't really tell what's going on.**

**Rose: I can! It's so intense!**

**Stella: Ahh, by the way, when Road mention's Allen's eye, I'm talking about the Rewinding Town arc. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"So tell me Rosie-chan, are you excited about seeing me again?" She asked me playfully as she licked her lollipop.

Allen and Miranda stood there, motionless, as they darted their eyes from me to that girl, expecting some sort of explanation.

"I…" I began nervously, "Who are you?" I finally choked out.

She frowned slightly and replied, "I'm Road Kamelot, a member of the Noah Family. Don't you remember us?"

"Rose…what is she talking about? Please tell me you know what she's talking about." Allen pleaded from beside me. His face was marked with anger as if he was ready to take down Road any second. Miranda's Innocence was invoked as well, ready for a battle.

I shook my head. "N-no. How could I? I've only met you once. That day in town the other week…when you said…"

"That you were never supposed to be an Exorcist." She finished for me, a frown still etched on her face.

Allen took a step forward and raised his left arm up as he shouted angrily, "What do you want from her?!"

"Aww, Allen. Are you still upset from when I stabbed you in the eye?" She questioned him innocently, although there was no innocence behind that question whatsoever.

"Road, how long are you going to toy around with them? Just get to it and take the girl." A new voice said. The voice sounded calm and much more mature that Road's…but also familiar. I was a little scared to find out who it was.

A few seconds later, a tall figure stood beside Road and I could've sworn my heart stopped beating. It wasn't because he was handsome, which he was, but it was because he was the same man from my dreams. The man who would rip my heart out without hesitation and have a sadistic smile plastered on his face while he did. He took his top hat off to reveal his long dark, wavy hair and strange cross-like markings on his forehead. His skin was much darker than Road's and he had amber eyes.

"Aww, Tyki! You're no fun at all, are you?" Road complained to her companion. So, his name was Tyki…

He noticed me staring at him and let out a soft chuckle. "I guess we don't need introductions now do we, Miss Rosalie Hinode?"

"Rosalie-chan…" Miranda squeaked. I looked over to see her trembling down to her toes. Whatever was about to happen, I knew it couldn't be good.

I gulped. "What do you want with me?"

"It's simple, girl. We want you to come with us. If you come along willingly, we'll spare your friends' lives." Tyki told me calmly.

Allen gritted his teeth and shouted, "You're crazy if you think we're going to let you take Rose! She belongs with us!"

Tyki laughed, as if all this was a joke. "You're Allen Walker, huh boy? I'll have to take care you _later_. Right now, the girl is all that matters."

I shook my head feverishly. "No."

"What was that?" He raised an eyebrow and glanced at me quizzically.

"I said…" I paused and balled my hand into a fist. "I said no!"

In that instant, Allen and I launched ourselves at the two Noah and attacked. They dodged us easily and somehow made their way behind us. Allen received a swift kick in the gut from Tyki and Road grabbed and handful of my hair and put her mouth close to my ear. I knew right then and there that it would be a miracle if Allen and I could fight them off.

"Please don't be this way, Rosie-chan. You wouldn't want your friends to die for you sake, right? So…just come with us." She whispered in my ear, causing shivers down my spine. I noticed her skin turn that same dark complexion as Tyki's and although I couldn't see her eyes, I already knew it was also that same amber color too.

I didn't say anything and she pulled my closer. "Why?" I finally mumbled.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about yourself, right? Like, you know….why Innocence runs through your very blood. Stuff like that."

My body stiffened. "How do you know that?"

"Trust me. I think I know almost everything there is to know about you. If you come with us, I'll tell you everything."

Allen rushed in and knocked Road off of me and I tumbled to the ground. But the rescue was short-lived as Tyki came and wrapped his hand around my neck. I could literally feel the breath escape my lungs and I struggled my way free, but it seemed as if there was no hope in getting out of his grasp.

"Miss Rosalie, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

I put my hands around his to pry them off, but it seemed like struggling would only lead to _more _struggling. I glanced over at Allen, but he was too busy dodging these pointy-looking candles that Road was shooting at him. I gritted my teeth and tried to concentrate, despite how absolutely terrified I was.

I felt my hands grow hot and Tyki finally released me, waving his hands up and down.

He narrowed his amber eyes and glared at me. "Nice trick, _girl. _It seems as if you're managing to control that weapon of yours just fine."

"Shut up!" I yelled in frustration. "Tell me why you're here!"

"Oh, my. No need to get angry." He said coolly. "You see, we had _orders _to come get you."

"Orders from who?"

He smirked. "The Millennium Earl, naturally."

My eyes widened. This was definitely not good. Why, of all people, did the Millennium Earl want to see me? I had nothing to do with him. Well, besides being an Exorcists and fighting akuma, but still, I wasn't any different from the other Exorcists. Road _did _tell me there was a lot of things that I didn't even know about myself. That was true. Komui was hiding things from me and he seemed pretty determined not to let me find out. Was whatever he was hiding somehow linked to the Noah Family?

"Look," Tyki sighed annoyingly. "I'm starting to lose my patience. I'll have to force you to come along if you keep resisting."

I took a step back and raised my arms up while the earth beneath me imitated my movement. Tyki took a step aside gracefully and pointed his right arm at me and summoned a dark-purple butterfly. I already knew what was going to happen before it did and there was no escaping it. I closed my eyes, ready to accept my fate and…

"I can't kill you, girl. Not yet." I reopened my eyes to see Tyki looking down at me with a frustrated look on his face. "But, I can kill Allen Walker. That is, if Road doesn't kill him first." He told me with a laugh.

I looked over to Allen in horror to see him being bloodied up by Road. It was sickening to watch a little girl do so much damage. Allen was literally coughing up blood as he was being thrashed around and nearly stabbed with candles. Miranda wasn't able to do anything because there were candles surrounding her, threatening to impale her. If I didn't do anything soon, Allen would surely die…

I turned to Tyki and stared straight into his eyes. "If I go with you, you have to promise to leave Allen and Miranda-san alone."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I can arrange that. However, after this encounter, I can't guarantee their safety."

"Just as long as you stop now…then…"

"No, Rose! Don't go along with their plans! They're part of the Noah which means they work directly with the Millennium Earl himself. You can't trust them." Allen pleaded with one knee on the ground. Somehow, he still managed to stand up and evade the candles that were close to impaling him.

"But Allen – "

"We'll be fine, Rose." He interrupted me and his silver eyes were fired up with a newfound determination. "We're Exorcists, after all." And despite everything that was going on, he managed to have a smile on his face. And in one second, he used his Innocence to shoot down each candle that was encircling Miranda.

"T-thank you, Allen!" She cried and ran towards Allen and held her arm out. "Time Out!"

All of a sudden, a bright light began to glow and surround Miranda, until she was obscured from view.

"C'mon, Rose!" Allen pulled my arm before Tyki could react and we jumped into the light that came from Miranda's Innocence.

All around us, they were little clocks made of light with their handles spinning at different speeds. I watched as Allen's injuries started to slowly fade away and I saw my own bruises disappear right before my eyes. So this was the power of Miranda's Innocence.

"Wow, Miranda-san! This is incredible!" I cheered as I finally relaxed a little. "But, this is only temporary right?"

She nodded. "Yes. And for now, the Noah members won't be able to come inside here. But remember, once you step outside, your injuries will begin to return." She told us sadly, but I placed a hand on her shoulder for reassurance.

"That's fine. You're being a great help."

Allen smiled and nodded in agreement. "It's true, Miranda. Right now, we just need you to stay here. We'll try to get things done fast." He said, but I could tell he was just as nervous as I was. Allen was a very strong fighter and I was still…a novice, but hopefully we'd be enough to stop those two Noah. And if Allen didn't feel so sure about fighting them, then that meant we definitely had to be careful.

"Rosalie-chan…" Miranda called out before me as I stood up.

"Yes? What is it, Miranda-san?"

She sighed and looked down. "Promise you'll come back, okay?"

I blinked and stared at her for a few seconds. I was going to ask her, "Why wouldn't I come back?" but I knew why she asked me to promise. If I didn't come back, it obviously meant that I chose to go with Tyki and Road.

I sent her a small smile and nodded. "Promise."

"Ready?" Allen asked me determinedly.

"Mhmm."

We stepped out and the Noahs wasted no time to attack us. Although Tyki said he couldn't kill me yet, he didn't hold back when he was throwing me around at each building. If I felt like I was going to die _last_ mission, _this_ felt ten times worse. I felt like I was dying, but my body just refused to die. Tyki grabbed my right arm and threw me easily against the pavement, smiling the whole time he did. It felt as if they were just toying with me. Every few minutes, Road and Tyki would switch between me and Allen and I would find myself trying to avoid flying candles. If I could somehow control the power of water, I'd be fine, but at the moment, I had no idea how to do that. Fire and earth just came so natural to me…

Allen seemed to be holding his own much better than I was. At times, he would have to step in in front of me to protect me, but I couldn't let him do that since Tyki had already informed me that he had no problem killing Allen.

Allen jumped back and avoided another attack as he landed beside me. "Rose, go back to Miranda. You're hurt too badly."

"But what about you, Allen?" I asked him with a shaky voice.

He simply shook his head and gave me another one of his smiles. "I'll be fine. Just go and come right back, okay?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but I just couldn't find the words. Allen was incredibly brave. Why couldn't I be more like him?

He seemed to sense my uneasiness and decided to push me towards Miranda. "Go! I'll be fine!"

I nodded and reluctantly ran back towards Miranda's Time Out field. Once I got in, I felt myself being revitalized. It took longer than the previous time I was in there since I received more injuries than usual. However, I heard Allen yell and ran out before I finished completely yelling.

"No! Allen!" I sprinted over to him, but was stopped midway as Road's pointy candles surrounded me.

"I wouldn't move if I were you, Rosie-chan~" She sang cheerfully. "You wouldn't want to poor Allen to suffer, would you?"

I stood in place, terrified of what was about to happen. I looked past the candles to see Tyki looming over Allen, his hand puncturing his chest.

"No…" I whispered inaudibly. I shook my head desperately and screamed, "NO! Stop it!"

Tyki grinned at my screams and his eyes drooped. "I'm sorry it's had to come to this. If you agree to come with us, Allen Walker will live...for now."

"And don't think you can try to fight us or anything." Road added. "My candles will pierce right through you…"

I gulped and balled my fists. What was I supposed to do? Could they really be trusted? If I decided to go with them, what would happen to me? But if I didn't go, Allen wouldn't have a high chance of surviving. I knew Tyki had the ability to rip someone's heart out. Allen's heart was no exception. Why was I so important to them anyway?

"Rosie-chan, if you come with us, we'll tell you everything you want to know." Road informed me. And considering she knew all those other facts about me, I had a feeling that she actually _did _know almost everything else about me.

I nodded slowly. "F-fine. You win. I'll go with you. Just don't hurt him."

"N-no…" Allen muttered weakly. "Don't…Rose…I'll be fine."

I shut my eyes closed and stood there, unsure of what to do. If I decided to go with them, that would mean Allen and I fought for nothing. And if I didn't go with them, Tyki would rip Allen's heart out.

Before I think of any sort of plan, in the corner of my eye, Miranda deactivated her Innocence and ran over to Allen and Tyki, placing herself between them. She stood over Allen protectively with tears streaming down her face. I took that momentary distraction to make my way towards them. I waved my arms around and the fire my anti-akuma weapon conjured copied my movements until most of the candles melted away. After I was safe enough to pass, I sprinted towards Tyki, intent to give him a huge punch in the face.

But I just wasn't fast enough and he grabbed me by the neck, suspending me in the air. This time, it really _did_ seem like he wanted nothing more than to choke the living breath out of me.

"You've made me mad for the last time, _girl._" He muttered in a furious tone. "Now since you've been such a bad girl, you'll watch as I kill Allen Walker."

I attempted to kick him, punch him, do whatever I could to get out of his grasp, but it was hopeless. I couldn't let Allen die. I couldn't.

But…

_But it was too late._

I saw Allen's eyes widen in complete horror as he felt his heart being impaled. I heard his terrified screams of pain as blood started gushing out of him. All the while, Tyki was still smiling as if he was enjoying to make things worse, he grabbed Allen's left arm and completely crushed it. His Innocence fluttered around him in little specks and his left arm was no more.

"Guess you're not the Heart after all…" Tyki muttered to himself

After taking his hand out from Allen, he used it to repeatedly hit me mercilessly in the face. Even after his glove became more stained with my blood, he still continued to lash out on me and I don't think he was holding back this time. But for some reason, I didn't feel any pain. I felt numb. The whole world around me started to blur and I could hardly hear Road's giggles from behind me or Miranda's sobs in front of me. I closed my eyes and hoped that this was all a bad dream.

'"_I swore to Mana, I'd keep walking until the day I died."'_

That's what Allen told me on our first mission together. Now, I had to keep walking for him. My eyes opened to see Tyki glaring at me with pure hatred in his eyes. I had to fight for Allen like he fought for me, but I…couldn't hang on much longer. I felt something warm drip down my face as Tyki dropped me to the ground. Road's figure loomed over me and I could see the shadows of her deadly candles surrounding her.

"A-ahhh!" I screamed in pain as her candles stabbed my hands to the ground.

"Why couldn't you just cooperate, Rosie-chan? We're going to have to punish you." Her voice said from a distance.

'_No….I have to stay awake…'_

"You really have no shame, huh? Hitting a girl like that! Now that's just low." I turned to the direction of the new voice, but I couldn't register anything right now. I heard a few more new voices, but I was hardly holding on to my consciousness at the moment.

"This is why I said I don't have time for rookies." An annoyed voice said. It sounded so familiar, but why couldn't I grasp on who it was?

Someone lifted my head up and started dragging me. "Miss Rosalie, are you alright?"

I blinked a few times, but everything still looked blurry. I myself getting closer to a big glow of light and once I was inside, my vision started clearing up and my aches were beginning to vanish. I rubbed my eyes and looked around to see Miranda and Bookman. Miranda's face was swollen from all the crying and Bookman looked as apathetic as ever. I recalled the memories from just a few minutes ago and that numb feeling overtook me again.

"Allen…" I whispered as tears started rolling down my cheeks. "A-Allen!"

Bookman put a hand up to silence me. "Please calm down, Miss Rosalie. Marie is getting Allen now as we speak."

"H-how did you…when did you all…"

"Miranda informed headquarters of your current situation right after she activated her Innocence. Lavi, Miss Lenalee and myself were close by, so we came when Komui told us what was going on. Kanda, Marie and Tiedoll were not that far away either, so they decided to come reinforce your group as well." Bookman explained.

Marie came in with Allen's body and laid him down beside me. I saw the hole in his chest begin to materialize back to normal and I let out a huge sigh in relief. However, his left arm wasn't returning at all. But at least that meant Tyki didn't really kill him.

"Allen! You're alive!" I hugged him close to me while my tears fell onto his jacket.

He grinned sheepishly and replied, "Yeah, that was close, wasn't it? I'm sorry you had to get so beat up for my sake."

I shook my head and yelled out furiously, "You idiot! You almost _died _because of me! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It was…" I paused and turned away, avoiding his gaze. "It's all my fault. I don't why the Noah want me to go with them, but I should've went right away. If I did, then…then…"

"It's okay, Rose. Just as long as we're both alive, then it's fine." He replied simply and smiled at me.

Bookman's eyes scanned over me in curiosity as he began to stand up. "I'm going to go assist them. You two stay here." He informed us and left the Time Out field without another word.

"Alright, I'm going." I stood up and began walking towards the edge of the field, but Allen grabbed the end of my sleeve.

"If you step out, then your injuries will return! You're in no condition to fight right now." He told me sternly and pulled my sleeve down. "I'll go."

"You might die if you leave here. I'm going. Miranda-san, please take care of Allen. Besides, you can't fight without your…" I trailed off and lightly tugged my sleeve away from him. "I'm sorry…"

"Rosalie-chan, no!" Miranda screamed out, surprising both me and Allen. "Don't you think…you're being a little selfish?!"

"Wha – "

"We already have other Exorcists fighting out there for yours and Allen's sake. Please, just stay here and let them fight. You and Allen fought so hard by yourselves. Just please…" She started shaking and her eyes became watery again. "I couldn't do anything…"

I smiled and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "You did plenty, Miranda, but I need to do this. This is all my fault anyway and I don't plan on letting anyone else get hurt because of me." I let out a soft chuckle and headed out to the scene.

Now that I was healed, although temporarily, I could finally make out the images of the other Exorcists that came to aid us in the battle. Kanda, Lavi and Bookman were fighting off Tyki while Lenalee, Marie and a middle-aged Exorcist I've never seen before were fighting against Road. It seemed like an equal match with three Exorcists battling against one Noah, but I knew they wouldn't be able to defeat them.

"Tyki, this isn't fair~" Road complained in a childish tone. "Maybe we should just get Rosie-chan later."

He nodded easily while dodging both Kanda's sword and Lavi's hammer. "I suppose we should." Then, he and Road leaped back at a far enough distance to where they couldn't be attacked.

"We'll be taking our leave now, Exorcists. Until next time." Tyki announced nonchalantly.

Kanda growled, "Damn it. You come down here and fight!"

Lavi scowled at them and gripped his hammer tighter. "Yeah, you can't just run away like that!"

Road winked. "We'll see each other again. You know…" She added, looking at only Lavi this time. "You and Rosie-chan have grown up a lot over the years. I never thought I'd see you two together again after what happened."

"What?" Lavi spat out angrily. "What the hell are you talking about? Hey, get back over here so I can smack that smile right off your face!"

But before Lavi or Kanda could throw anymore insults at them, a strange-looking, checkered door appeared behind them. With a single wave, Road and Tyki walked through it and it disappeared into the ground. Just like that, they were gone.

"W-what…did she…mean by that?" I mumbled weakly, taking in deep breaths for air. My injuries started to return faster this time and I could see drops of my blood fall onto the concrete. Everything started to become a giant blur again and my knees buckled, causing me to fall.

"Rose!"

"Hang in there!"

"Che."

"We need to get her out of here!"

A rush of voices yelled frantically from all around me. I couldn't tell whose voices were whose at the moment. All I knew was that I could barely hang on to my consciousness anymore. As the world faded into black around me, I managed a small smile knowing that Allen was still alive and for the people that came to fight for us.

I really owe everyone at the Order the biggest thank you ever.

* * *

**Stella: Ahaha, yeah I know this chapter was mostly about Allen and Rose, but - **

**Lavi: And it should've been about me!**

**Stella: Down, boy. But yeah, I think you all might know where it's going to lead to with Allen. And I had a reason for Tiedoll showing up.**

**Rose: Oh...that guy's name was Tiedoll?**

**Stella: But now I gotta plan the next chapter. I always plan the future things, not what I'm about to write. xP**

**Tyki: Need me to help planning?**

**Stella: No! Dx You kinda creep me out.**

**Road: Hahaha, Tyki is creepy~**

**Lenalee: I hardly said anything this chapter! :(**

**Stella: Oh, I'm sorry! Next chapter then! I gotta plan it because I really wanna write it soon!**

**Lavi: Ahahaha, you're so unprepared.**

**Stella: Shut up! **

**Allen: Please review! I will thank you from the bottom of my punctured heart if you do. :D**

**Stella: Yes! It would mean a lot~ I really hope I get 40 on this before school starts, but I don't know if that'll happen. So your review is well appreciated! :D**

**And btw, the next chapter will finally have some Rose and Lavi fluff! I think that's where my story will (finally) get exciting. xP yayy fluff! I love the fluff...but it's still kinda angsty. Haha.**


	13. For the Sake of History

**Stella: So this chapter was combined with the next one, but as I reread it, I realized that it just seemed like I was going on and on and on...so thus, I separated them!**

**Lavi: You and your last minute decisions.**

**Stella: Now I'm not even sure if this is a good chapter by itself. But hey, it took me a while! I was completely stuck...for five days!**

**Rose: So basically...**

**Stella: So basically...this chapter probably sucks. But maybe I'll redo it...someday. Ugh, I have school a week from now. It's absolutely depressing.**

**Lavi: Shouldn't you be doing your summer reading?**

**Stella: ...**

* * *

Shortly after the encounter with Tyki and Road, Allen and Rose were rushed back to the Black Order to the hospital wing. Everyone that joined their mission accompanied them to the hospital wing for support.

"But Allen-kun…what if he d-doesn't…" Lenalee trailed off mid-sentence, tears sliding down her face.

Rose avoided everyone's gaze, especially Allen's.

'_It's all my fault…'_

She couldn't let go of the fact that Allen almost _died _earlier that day. As of the moment, he and Rose were completely fine, but that's because Miranda didn't deactivate her Time Out field yet. Most of the medical team was trying to figure out how they would be able to close the wound in Allen's heart in time. There was also the situation about his destroyed Innocence. Nobody wanted to mention that in front of Allen. He seemed destroyed by the fact itself, but he didn't blame Rose once.

"Alright, we've got it." Komui informed everyone. "We were going to see if the Head of the Asian Branch could come, but that would take too much time." Now he turned to only Miranda. "We've got the monitors plugged in, Miranda. It should keep Allen's heart beating fine and Rosalie will be okay too. You can deactivate your Innocence now."

"But I…" She began meekly, clutching the arm that wielded her weapon. "I can't! They're hurt too badly!"

"It's fine, Miranda." Allen told her with a smile, but it was obvious that there was no trace of happiness within him. "We'll be okay right, Rose?"

Rose finally looked at Allen and Miranda with puffy eyes and a red nose. Lavi and Lenalee tried constantly to cheer her up, but she just wouldn't forgive herself for what happened.

"Rose…" Allen repeated her name, hoping that she would answer.

"I…I'm sorry, Allen…" She whispered and everyone could clearly see her spirits were broken, just as much as Allen's.

"Don't be, Rose. I'll be fine." He stated determinedly.

"Rosalie, listen to me." Komui spoke up and walked over to her bed. "You and Allen need to hear this first. Allen's Innocence wasn't truly destroyed, if that's what you're so worried about."

Allen and Rose stared at him in astonishment. "What?" They demanded in unison.

"It's just been reduced…to particles, but not destroyed. So, maybe after this operation, Allen might be able to summon his Innocence again."

Now everyone in the room nodded together. "Mmmmhmmmmm…."

Allen's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. "That's great!"

Rose managed the smallest smile, but her feelings of guilt didn't go away. She knew she had to get stronger and she wasn't going to stop until she was. She turned her head slowly and put a hand over Miranda's.

"Miranda-san, please deactivate your Innocence." She said quietly and smiled at her genuinely that time. Miranda nodded and looked at Allen for reassurance.

He nodded as well. "Go ahead."

Miranda raised her arm and the disk slid up and Allen and Rose's "times" returned to Miranda's Innocence. Blood immediately flowed out of their bodies and Allen clutched his heart.

"Everyone, I'm going to please ask you to step out until we're done." Komui commanded and they all left quietly, hoping their comrades would be able to recover fast.

Allen and Rose smiled weakly at each other before closing their eyes.

~…~

On the third day of being in the hospital wing, Rose healed at a dramatic rate, but still not well enough to leave. She looked over and saw Allen sleeping soundly with his heart hooked up to a monitor. She sighed in relief.

'_It looks like he made it just fine. I'm so glad…'_

She rose up from the bed and snuck out and headed straight for the training hall, praying that no one would be there. Once she got in, she saw the coast was clear and immediately activated her Innocence. After taking a deep breath, she raised her arms up, but winced from the pain. She wasn't one hundred percent better yet and training right away would probably slow down her process of recovering, but at the moment, she didn't care.

Rose began training by herself for almost an hour and moved her arms all sorts of ways. In ways that felt natural to her. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't manipulate water or wind and it was beginning to frustrate her.

"If only I knew how…then maybe Allen wouldn't…" She muttered more to herself and shook her head.

Angrily, she punched the wall and it caused her a huge jolt of pain. But this time, she embraced the pain and punched the wall repeatedly until her fists and the wall were bloodied up. Rose sank to the floor, sobbing. Not from the pain, but from her own weakness.

A voice called her name out, but it wasn't until she felt herself being lifted did she notice that voice.

"Rosalie, what are you doing to yourself?" She turned and met Lavi's single eye, which was clouded with seriousness and concern.

"Lavi…" She choked out between sobs. "It's all my fault. My stupid, _stupid _fault…"

"Haven't I told you already not to blame yourself for everything? It only brings you down more."

She didn't say anything and moved her hand to punch the wall again, but Lavi grabbed it just before she could. He sighed as he looked at her bloody fists.

"Will you stop that?" He finally asked her in a serious tone. "What's wrong with you? You're not acting like yourself."

'_I know the old man told me to keep an eye after her, but geez, she's going overboard right now.'_

"Why are you here?" She finally asked, sliding back down to the ground again.

"Why are you out of the hospital wing?" He shot back, smirking at the glare he was receiving.

"It just…doesn't feel right…"

"What doesn't feel right?"

She looked down, fresh tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. "Being in the same room with Allen…after – "

"Are you going on about that again?" Lavi demanded in a slightly angry tone. "Rose, listen to yourself. You say you want to be stronger, but all you're doing is blaming yourself for things that couldn't have been helped. Just stop, okay?!" His voice grew louder with each word and his expression hardened into frustrated one.

Rose's tears began to fall and she began sobbing again. "But i-it's true. T-Tyki said t-t-that if I went…" Her whole body was shaking this time and Lavi started to feel uneasy, unsure of what to do with the crying Rose. "T-that if I went w-w-with them, h-he wouldn't h-h-hurt Allen, but I r-refused to…g-go!"

Lavi took a step closer to her and kneeled down to brush a few hairs that were stuck to her face. Hesitantly, he put his hand on her shoulders and she finally stopped shaking while staring at him in confusion with her tear-soaked eyes.

"As far as I know, you made the right choice." He paused and removed his hands from her shoulders, but the close proximity between the two remained the same. "You can't let yourself trust anyone from the Clan of Noah."

Rose cleared her throat and leaned closer to him, cheeks burning as red as his hair. "But…what Road said...I get the feeling that it might be true."

Lavi scanned her for a second, his face momentarily washed away of any emotions.

"Lavi?" She called out for the redhead when he didn't make an attempt to say anything.

He shook in head disbelievingly. "You would think I'd know what she was talking about, but I had absolutely _no _clue." He muttered more to himself than to Rose. "I'm the successor to Bookman. I'm supposed to remember _everything_, but yet…" He casted his eye over Rose and shook his head again.

They sat in silence for a minute pondering their apparently shared, yet hidden past.

"I know that Komui-san is hiding something from me." Rose finally said. "And…well…it involves you, too."

"What do you mean?" Lavi demanded a little too quickly.

She shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I would tell you if I knew. Road told me that she knew everything there is to know about me."

"And you believed her?"

"She knew that Innocence runs through my blood."

"And…?"

Rose sighed and turned her head away. "I don't know. I don't know why they wanted me to go with them and right now I don't know who to believe. Everyone's keeping secrets from me."

"Rosalie…"

Rose got up and made her way out of the training hall. "Just forget it."

Shortly after she left, Bookman appeared in front of his apprentice.

"So what did you find out?"

"Nothing…much. Apparently the Noah, Road, knows who she is..." Lavi stood up and looked down at the current Bookman. "And me." He added. "Do you know anything about it?"

"…I daresay not." He replied simply.

Lavi gritted his teeth. "Old man…"

"But it seems as if Miss Rosalie was once associated with the Noah Clan somehow, although the fact seemed unknown to her until that encounter."

"And what about me?" He asked in a serious tone. Lavi's lips curved downwards and he furrowed his eyebrows. Something didn't seem right since Bookman wasn't answering him directly.

"Lavi…" Bookman locked eyes with his apprentice. "You will not stray from your path to be the successor of the Bookman, correct?"

Lavi's eye narrowed at Bookman's words. In that instant, Lavi knew that Bookman was hiding something from him as well. It was all connected somehow.

'_So…I really _do _know Rose somehow, but why don't I remember it?'_

"Of course not." Lavi replied blankly. "So can you please tell me what's going on here? Road knows who I am and apparently, Rose and I have met before. That's what it seems like to me anyway."

Bookman didn't say anything.

Lavi let out an annoyed sigh. "Just tell me one thing. If I'm supposed to be the next Bookman, why can't I remember her?"

"Because…" Bookman started slowly, "Holding on to memories like that will only hinder you to become my successor."

Lavi opened his mouth to say something, but Bookman cut him off before he did. "Don't dwell on it. Right now, I need you to find out as much as you can from Miss Rosalie dealing with the Noah."

'_Damn you, old man…you don't even explain yourself to me and you're still making me do all this?'_

"But what about now? It doesn't seem like there's a problem with us being associated now." Lavi pointed out.

"That's because it's merely for the sake of recording history."

"And it wasn't back then?"

"She wasn't an Exorcist back then."

"Am I ever going to find out why my own memories are being kept from me?"

Bookman let out a tired sigh. "Maybe one day, but I'd prefer if you didn't."

And the old man left Lavi without another word. As soon as he left, Lavi punched the wall in frustration, just as Rose did earlier.

"Just who exactly is Rosalie Hinode?" He muttered to himself.

Lavi was completely lost in his own thoughts after the small conversation with Bookman. He had come to two conclusions. One was that he and Rosalie have definitely met before and those strange feelings of Déjà vu he had when he was around her was _not _a coincidence. The second was that something big must've happened between her, Lavi and the Noah Clan back then and somehow, Bookman found a way to tuck away those memories.

He also knew that he wasn't going to stop until he got his answers.

After leaving the training hall, Lavi went to search for Rose, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He asked Lenalee, Kanda, Komui, Marie, Tiedoll, Miranda and a lot of Finders and they all told him she locked herself up in her room.

Lavi took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Hey, Rose! I know you're in there~" He decided to put on his cheerful mask to lure her out. However, despite his seemingly cheerful mood, his heart was beating a little faster than usual.

there was no answer.

"Rooooseeeeee!"

There was still no answer.

'_Maybe I should try again later…'_

He decided to take his mind off a few things and read a book, but reading a book got a little boring especially since he's read it about three times. After about an hour, he gave up and walked up to Rose's room again.

"Rose! Hey, can you open the door…pleeeeaaaaaase?" He begged, knocking on the door.

"If you don't open the door, I'm afraid I'll have to knock it out with my hammer." Lavi smirked and he felt his mini hammer on his holster.

Rose stared at her door from inside her room. Finally, she opened her mouth and replied, "…you wouldn't."

Lavi let out a small laugh and picked it up. "I would. I'll give you to the count of three, kay?"

She didn't make any effort to get up from her bed.

"One."

The hammer grew into a normal size.

"Two."

It shifted its size again. Rose still didn't believe him, but that was only because she couldn't see Lavi's hammer getting bigger on the other side.

'_He's so bluffing. He wouldn't knock down the –'_

"Three!" And the door was smacked clean off as soon as it came into contact with Lavi's hammer. Rose jumped back a bit and stared at her now door-free doorway.

"W-wow…so you weren't kidding…"

Lavi grinned and walked over to her, allowing himself a place on the bed beside her. He could tell she's been crying all day and she didn't bother to wrap up her fists that she used to angrily punch the wall. So overall, she's been in her room all day sulking.

"Told ya!"

Rose glared at him in disbelief. "…you're unbelievable…"

* * *

**Stella: Yeah, well basically, Bookman isn't hiding the fact that Lavi and Rose are connected and he's telling Lavi he's better off not knowing cause it'll distract him or something like that and for the sake of history...or something like that.**

**Rose: My door!**

**Lavi: Hahah, sorry. Stella-chan made me!**

**Stella: And I kinda made Rosie-chan somewhat depressing in this chapter. :P  
Ugh...school...I still gotta change my damn schedule. I hate our guidance office people. xP**

**Lavi: School isn't that bad.**

**Stella: Well, I did buy some dgm manga, so I guess I'll just take that to school with me! I also got my dgm illustration noche book! yay~**

**Rose: You should be preparing for school and that's not preparing!**

**Stella: Ugh, you're right. I really gotta start my summer reading. Blehh.**

**Lavi: Well, please review because our lazy author won't be able to write as much once school starts! :(**


	14. A World that was Ours

**Stella: Oh...this chapter. I can't tell if I love it or hate it. It definitely hated me though, especially the last few lines. But like I said, it took me five days. But when I say that, I mean I was thinking about it/writing it on and off for five days. **

**Lavi: When you should've been doing your summer reading.**

**Stella: Who are you, my mother?**

**Rose: Well, you have been procrastinating this whole summer...**

**Stella: *sighs* I know, but since I'm a senior now, it'll be my last summer reading! Yay! Well, unless I have one for college. :o  
And I know at one point I said I wouldn't do Lavi's P.O.V. but it wouldn't have worked out if I did it any other way. So yeah, I know he's kinda OOC here, but in a way, he has to be. I'm sorry...**

**Lavi: Maybe this means it'll get more reviews!**

**Stella: Actually, it hasn't been getting that many lately... ;_;**

**Rose: But people have been adding it to their favorites and alerts!**

**Stella: But Stella wants reviews -x-**

**Lavi: Stop talking in third person! And you should be grateful.**

**Stella: Yes...sorry...gosh...**

* * *

**Lavi's P.O.V.**

We sat in silence for a little bit, which was a little awkward. Usually, I'd be in the one to start the conversation up no sweat, but it was different this time. I think she felt the same tension in the air as I did. After all, apparently we go way back…

"What're you doing here, Lavi?" She finally asked.

"What? I can't just hang around wherever I want to?" I attempted to joke, but as soon as I looked at her, I saw that my attempt was futile.

"You can, but you don't have to knock down a door to do that." She deadpanned.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't open up when I asked."

"…sorry."

Geez, she was just a load of sunshine today. Well, I figured that if I didn't ask now, I would probably have a harder time finding out later. Besides, I doubt it would hurt just to ask.

"So, how long have you known?" I murmured softly.

She took her eyes off the floor and looked at me. "About what…exactly?"

"Me." I replied simply. She shifted her weight and tucked her legs in. After adjusting herself a few more times, she decided to plop down on her bed and she put an arm to cover her eyes. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, and before I could repeat myself, she opened her mouth to reply.

"It's not like I really…_know _you. I just…I don't know how to explain it." She admitted truthfully. She sighed and sat back up to face me. "But when I look at you, it just seems so..._familiar._"

"And what about me seems familiar?" I asked her.

She managed a small smile and pointed to the top of my head. More specifically, my hair.

I let out a small laugh. So that's why she was asking about if my hair was naturally that color.

"I get it now." I told her jokingly. "So, anything else?"

She shrugged her shoulders and that ghost of a smile disappeared from her face. "No offense…but I don't want to talk about it right now. It's reminding me too much of…her."

I don't even need to ask who this "her" is. I guess I can't blame her for not wanting to be reminded of what happened just a few days ago. She's already beat herself up over it. But I really needed to know about what happened and I had to do everything I could to find out.

I decided to go with small talk for the moment. "Well…then let's talk about something else!" I told her and flashed a smile her way. "So what was your life like before coming to the Order?"

She blinked a few times and smiled sadly. "It was…simpler. Yes, much simpler."

I waved a hand and pressed on. "Okay, continue!"

Rose laughed a bit from my sudden eagerness and sat up straight. "I went to school like any other kid. I had a small group of friends I was close with and we'd just have fun. It was a pretty normal life."

"Sounds fun…" I muttered and thought a bit about my own life before the Order. But there were way too many different aliases and personalities and people to think about it all.

"I guess…that's basically it." She concluded and smiled sheepishly. Well, at least she seemed to be cheered up. That was one of the things I liked about her. She was very easy to cheer up, but on the downside, she was very easy to get put down. But unlike me, she didn't have to put on a fake smile and she could easily wear her heart on her sleeve.

"Hmm…well, then how did you end up here?"

And the smile that was there vanished. "I um…" She struggled with herself for a bit and then she replied so quietly, I had to lean in to hear what she said. "I killed my dad…"

I stared at her in disbelief for a second, surprise written all over my face. "What?" I sputtered, hoping I heard her wrong.

"I mean, not like _that_." She said defensively. "But my…my mom she…" And then tears started to well up in her eyes again like it has been these past few days.

I leaned in closer, now seriously interested in what she had to say. "She turned my dad into an akuma." She finally said, but in a grave tone. After a quick glance at me, she continued on with her story. "It was actually on my sixteenth birthday and my dad finally gave in to his illness. I guess I should've paid more attention to my mom though. I didn't know she would be grieving so much that the Millennium Earl would approach her. That's when she called out his name. After he turned into an akuma, I was the first one he was ordered to…kill." She shuddered and I saw the tears threatening to fall, but she didn't let them. "But somehow, I managed to dodge the dark matter he was shooting at me. That doesn't mean other people did…"

An air of silenced passed by and she closed her eyes, probably remembering the people that died that day.

"Then, out of nowhere, a tall man with long red hair hands me a box with an anti-akuma weapon and tells me I'm an Exorcist. He said that path was already set by my father, but he was wrong. I chose this path on my own." She paused. "At least, that's what I've been telling myself…"

I didn't say anything and she let out a sigh. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about that. I've only really ever told Allen about it, but that's because we're kind of the same. It's different telling you…"

"Is that a bad thing?" I chuckled.

Her smile reappeared as she shook her head. "No, definitely not. I _like_ talking to you, Lavi." And her face turned slightly pink as she said those words.

"Well, I'm all ears. So who's the man that gave you your anti-akuma weapon? How did he get it in the first place?" I could already guess _who _it was, but I needed to make sure.

Rose put her finger to her chin as if she was thinking. "Honestly…I don't know." She let out a small laugh. "I guess I should know. But he was wearing an Exorcist uniform, except it was one for the Generals. And he said he knew my dad. You see, my dad was an Exorcist too…"

I sat back and ran everything that she just told me in my head. The man was definitely General Cross, but how did he get his hands on those bracers? And how could her father cause her to become an Exorcist? It wasn't exactly something you could choose.

"What was your father's name?"

"Cassian Hinode."

That name instantly rang a bell, but of course, I couldn't figure out where I knew the name or how. Damn, this was annoying.

"Do you know something?" Rose asked after my minute of silence. I guess it wouldn't be bad if I just told her about Cross.

"The man who gave you the bracers, that was General Cross. He's been missing for a while now, so it's kind of surprising that he just showed up in your town out of nowhere."

"Cross…" She muttered quietly to herself. "Oh! That's the man that Allen, Miranda-san and I were supposed to look for in Switzerland!"

I nodded and laid down on her bed. I took a deep breath and inhaled the familiar aroma of strawberries. The same smell she had on during that train ride…

"What about you? What was your like before coming to the Order, Lavi?" She asked suddenly. I propped myself up and put my hands behind my head.

"I guess it wasn't that different. I'm still doing the same thing, technically." I told her, words coming out of my mouth without a second thought. "I'm just here to record history." It felt strange telling her this and I doubt the old man would be happy if he knew I was, but at the moment, I really didn't care. It put off some stress to talk to someone about it.

"Oh." I saw a flash of disappointment in her eyes. "So you're not here just to help fight in the war against the Millennium Earl?" Her eyes drooped a bit. "Hmm. Oh, yeah. I remember you telling me a little bit of what it's like to be a Bookman on our mission together. I guess I just assumed you were here also as an Exorcist. But…you're only an Exorcist so you could get a closer look at the war…not because you want to _win _it." I could hear the slightest bit of disbelief in her voice. I was surprised she figured it all out.

"There's more to it than that. We have rules we gotta follow." I added.

Rose turned around to fully face me this time. "Like what?" She asked curiously.

"Well…" I debated with myself whether or not I should tell her. I already said too much, but somehow, it felt _right _to tell her. "It's…um…"

She placed a hand on my arm, gripping the sleeve of my jacket. Her light green eyes pierced right through me. "S'okay if you don't want to say." She murmured softly and her head fell to rest against my shoulder.

"Lavi…I'm scared, you know." She whispered and her grip became tighter. "I don't want anyone to see me like this though…"

"You're letting me see you like that." I pointed out, chuckling at her pouting face.

"But you're different." She retorted.

I pulled my bandana down and let my hair fall free over my face to hide whatever confused or conflicted expression I was feeling. My heart started to beat just a little faster. It seemed as if she was luring me in somehow. I figured I should stop it now before anything else could happen.

"Look, I'm not supposed to…being a Bookman means…" I struggled trying to find the right words. I looked down at her to see her looking back up at me, waiting for whatever it is I had to say. "_This,_ for example," I gestured to her resting her head against my shoulder and her hand gripping my arm. "…is something that I'm _not _supposed to do."

She didn't bother letting go of my arm or bringing her head up, but instead stared at me with a confused look in her eyes. "What is it?" She asked, oblivious to our close proximity. I was surprised, actually, because she didn't seem like the type of girl to do this. She always seemed so flustered when I joked around with her.

I sweatdropped and let out a weary sigh. "Bookmen aren't supposed to feel. No attachments or feelings or anything. It's supposed to help us remain neutral."

Rose turned her head forward and stared at the wall for a couple seconds and then back to me. Then, to her hand holding onto my arm. She instantly let go and scooted back.

"I wasn't…I mean, I wasn't trying to imply anything! I'm sorry!" She blurted out quickly and her face started to become redder and redder. "Eh heh heh…" She let out a nervous giggle and tried to put on a smile.

She obviously _still _didn't get what I was trying to say.

"I didn't mean it like _that_. I meant that in platonic ways too." I explained as I watched her shoulders relax a bit.

"O-oh…" She mumbled, her face still burning red. And then I saw the look in her eyes as she finally registered what I said. "Oh…" She repeated, but this time it expressed complete disappointment.

"Then that means…all this time, you were just…" She didn't even bother to finish her sentence.

"I don't know." I said honestly. "This time is different. Ever since I came here, I soon came to the point where I didn't know whether my smiling face was a lie or not. I've been here for about two years. That's the longest I've stayed at one place. Every time I go somewhere, I change my identity and the 49th alias is the longest one I've kept." And the words escaped again without my permission, but I still wasn't worried. I glanced over at the door, but there was no need.

Rose didn't say anything and instead, she completely looped both her arms around mine and replied with a shaky voice. "I'm sure the other 48 were just as great as the 49th. Lavi, even if you don't or can't see me as anything more than a temporary comrade, I want you to know that I think of you as a really good friend."

I wanted to reply, but a lump formed in my throat that disabled me from speaking at the moment. So I let my head rest on top of hers for the moment.

"But you're different." I repeated her words from earlier and I could tell she smiled a little.

Another minute of silence passed again. Or maybe it was a few minutes. I wasn't really paying attention to anything else anymore.

"Lavi…" She mumbled, breaking the quietness. "Do you remember anything about me? Or does anything seem familiar?"

"Mmm…well, not anything in particular. But…" And then I remembered that little moment on the train ride when our lips met. "Well…I'm not trying to come up with any ideas or anything…but when we, uhh…" I could feel my own cheeks heating up a little and I cleared my throat. "When we kissed."

She blinked a few times and we exchanged glances. It was the first time we brought it up anyway. "Oh…," Was all that escaped her lips. "That's umm…a coincidence…"

"You mean you felt it too? Like…it wasn't the first time?"

She nodded while her cheeks turned red again. "So that means we must've…you know…"

I laughed at her shyness and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, I know…"

She removed her arms from mine and we stared at each other with determination and intensity.

I tried to lighten the mood up a bit, to ease her nervousness, and gave her a smile. "I think we both know what we're getting at."

She nodded.

"So…it's just for memory's sake, kay?" I chuckled as her face turned a darker shade of red, if that were possible. "You want to find out too, right? It can't be _that _bad to kiss me~

She nodded again.

"Alright, then…" I whispered. I wasn't sure how I should've been feeling at the moment, but I convinced myself that this was just to figure out about my missing memories.

Slowly, I leaned down and it felt as if I could hear her heart beating…or was it mine? And I saw her open her mouth to say something, but then she closed it along with her eyes. As I got closer, I could smell a hint of strawberries and then…

And then nothing…

**Rose's P.O.V.**

I pulled away just before his lips could touch mine and my breathing became fast and uneven. It felt as if my heart was going to explode. It's not that I didn't want to find out about our memories, but aren't kisses meant for someone you feel passionate about and care for deeply? I didn't _think_ I felt that way about Lavi, but maybe somewhere deep in my mind, despite everything he told me about the rules of being a Bookman, maybe I was slowly becoming attached to him…

Lavi looked at me with a blank expression on his face and I let my head sink.

"I'm sorry…it's just that I…I don't feel right…"

He cocked his head to the side a bit and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I can see that." And I could hear and see the letdown in his voice and eye. "But I really wanna try. Please, can we try?" He asked with a cheerful mixed determined voice.

I frowned a bit, but I guess that if we didn't at least try, we wouldn't ever get anywhere. I nodded slowly and he smiled and I couldn't help but to give him a small smile in return. I looked over at the door just to make sure no one was there and there wasn't. Part of me wisheed there was so I could prepare more, but part of me was glad there wasn't for some unknown reason.

This time, he caressed my cheek and he leaned down again. My heart started beating even faster. Was it nervousness or excitement? Did I want to kiss Lavi in hoping I'd remember something or was it because I…

My thoughts were interrupted when his lips grazed mine. It felt exhilarating, but at the same time it was also heartbreaking because maybe I felt all the emotions that we were _both _supposed to feel. Lavi was probably trying to block those feelings out while I let them all in and it was overwhelming.

It seemed as if the entries I read from dad's diary a few weeks ago were coming to life in short movie clips inside my mind. I saw bits and pieces of a little kid version of me and Lavi in my hometown.

It would be the same as always. My mom would force me to go to school no matter how much I begged her to let me stay home. School wasn't for me. Well, the other kids there weren't. I was the only kid in my kindergarten class with curly hair and all the other kids found it funny to pick on me. There was no way I was going to make friends at that rate. Until one day, on the way home, I spotted a kid with different hair like me. His hair was bright red, like a fire...like a _flame. _I gave him that nickname since he wouldn't tell me his real name. He was accompanied by an old man that reminded me a lot of a panda. Apparently he knew my dad and came to discuss things with him. But all the while, I naturally became close to this flame. He made me feel so warm inside and he never made fun of me. He was my first friend, after all.

At first I only believed that love existed between married people like mom and dad, but as days went by, I realized I love Flame. I didn't think little kids fell in love, but my mom told me if there was a boy out there that made your heartbeat faster and butterflies fluttered in your chest every single time you saw him, then it was love. And that's exactly how I felt. I thought everything was perfect...until _she _showed up.

She said her name was Road Camelot and she claimed she was from superior family called the Noahs. Road didn't look like a bad person until her eyes lingered on dad. Apparently they were rivals of some sort, but I don't remember much after Road visisted. The last thing I remembered was seeing a bloodied up Lavi...and everything went blank from there.

Lavi lips still lingered on mine as I opened my eyes to see a mess of red hair and an eyepatch. I couldn't help but to kiss him back this time because this time, the feelings were there. The same feelings I had for him ever since we were little. Although the memories weren't _fully _there yet, the feelings were. I wondered what he was thinking at the moment.

He slowly broke away and let his hand fall down onto the bed. Our eyes met and I couldn't seem to take mine away.

"S-so…?" I finally managed to ask. "A-any memories come back?"

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. That wasn't a good sign. I already knew was going to happen so I looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze.

"None. Absolutely none. But the feeling was still there." I perked my head up and met his single emerald eye. Maybe that meant that he…

"I mean, the feeling that we've, you know, kissed before."

Oh, dead wrong.

"What about you? Do you remember anything?"

I felt my lips curve downwards and my eyes watering. If Lavi didn't remember, then there was no point in telling him until he did. Besides, I didn't see enough to make something that important out of it.

"N-no, not really. I mean, I just saw flashes of you, me and Road. But that's all it was." I finally replied and turned my head away so he couldn't see as tears made its way down my face.

"Ahh, that sucks. But hey, then I guess that means that you and I definitely _have _met before and Road _does _know us." He paused and sighed. "But I guess that's all we're gonna get for now."

I saw in the corner of my eye a figure approaching my doorway. I looked over and saw that man known as Tiedoll standing right outside my room.

"Rosalie-chan, I was wondering if you would like to come down to the cafeteria for a meal. I have some things I'd like to ask you. You're welcome to come too, Lavi."

I blinked and nodded.

He smiled and looked at my door that was taking up a large portion of space on my floor. "So what happened here? A lovers quarrel?"

I waved my arms back and forth and shook my head. "W-what? N-no that's – "

"Relax. I was just kidding." He said in a kind voice.

I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.

"I'll be waiting in the cafeteria then." He told me and left.

I looked over to Lavi and waited for him to say something.

He waited until Tiedoll was completely out of sight. "I wonder what he wants…" Then he looked back at me with a questionable look in his eye. "Well, should we go?"

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."

"Okay, I'll see you later then." He stood up and began walking towards my door. Well, my doorframe.

"Lavi, wait!" I yelled right before he left.

He turned around and gazed into my eyes, wondering why I suddenly called out to him. "What's up?"

"Did…did it mean anything to you?" I blurted out and I shut my eyes closed out of embarrassment.

He didn't say anything and when I finally reopened my eyes, I saw him looking at me with uncertainty marked across his face.

Finally, he parted his lips slowly and answered, "It was…just for memory's sake, right?" He said in a dead tone.

I swallowed hard and tried to wipe my face of any hint of despair or hurt. "That's right…" I replied, barely audible.

For a flicker of a second, I saw the hurt reflected in my eyes show on Lavi's face, but then he smiled to cover it up. "Sorry about your door. I'll tell someone to come fix it right away! Anyways, I should get going. I'll see ya around!"

And without another word or glance over his shoulder, he walked out of my room until he was out of sight.

And as soon as he was out of my view, the tears fell down my face again. I already knew that right there, I had forced Lavi to choose between me or the path of becoming the next Bookman. Did he only reply back earlier in that emotionless tone because he couldn't risk being strayed away from that path? But then, when he showed me that expression of hurt etched on his face, did that mean he was already straying from it?

As I began heading over to meet up with Tiedoll, I realized two things.

One; I was causing Lavi to struggle even more with him and his Bookman self.

And two; I was beginning to fall in love with Lavi…all over again.

* * *

**Stella: I feel like I rushed things a bit. I should've got a beta reader or something...but I'm too stubborn...And it's not as fluffy as I wanted it to be. Actually, it's not even that fluffy. But it's definitely a LavixRose chapter!**

**Lavi: Whoa~**

**Rose: W-whoa...**

**Stella: Ahaha yeah, I might have to edit this one later down the road, too. But now I can finally get to the exciting parts of my story cause it hasn't been that exciting yet!**

**Lavi: You don't have that much faith in yourself.**

**Stella: Like I said, this chapter hated me...**

**Rose: My...feels...**

**Stella: Well, I'm definitely starting my summer reading tomorrow! So this is most likely my last chapter for a while. Hopefully for two weeks at the most. Gotta go to school next week and all. Senior status~ Ha, not. I don't even care if I'm a senior, I just don't wanna go.**

**Lavi: Oh you...**

**Stella: Anyways, please review! I'll accept constructive criticism for this one, but please don't be too harsh. xP Until next time!**


	15. And the Search Begins

**Stella: Wow...it's been awhile...**

**Rose: A month, to be exact.**

**Lavi: Yeah, exactly a month.**

**Stella: This is why I hate school. Anyways! About this chap. Well, my muse just left me while I began writing this so sorry if it's not that good...but hopefully I'll be able to work on this more since I can leave school early now! It's hard doing stories if I don't keep up with it consistently...**

**Rose: Or if you don't remember what to write about.**

**Stella: Ahaha, yeah that happens a lot. Well, sorry if some characters are OCC. I've never written for the rest of the Noah Family, so it was kinda weird. But...enjoy!**

* * *

**Rose's P.O.V.**

It's been about a week since that excruciating battle with Road and Tyki. It's also been a week since I regained a few memories of Lavi, but still, he doesn't seem to recall anything of the past between us. I figured it was best to leave it for now until he could discover the memories for himself.

"Rosalie-chan, are you ready to go?" Tiedoll's voice called from the outside of Komui's office.

I turned to Komui and gave him a knowing stare. "I guess…I'm leaving now, Komui-san."

"So it seems. I can't say anything else to you now except to be safe." He began, choosing his words carefully. "I know you're in good hands."

I narrowed my eyes, albeit unintentionally, and replied, "I'm not joining his unit because I need a bodyguard. I need to know what's going on and if I stay here, I obviously won't get my answers."

"Rosalie, I'm only doing – "

"Yes I know, for my own good." I interjected. "But is hiding it all for my own good, too? I'm sorry, Komui-san. You can't keep me in the shadows forever."

"Just wait, Rosalie…"

I gave my back to him and hurried out the door. "I'm going. Goodbye."

I knew the way I was speaking to Komui was completely disrespectful, but I was already suppressing more anger than I could hold. Komui didn't even hide it anymore that there was a link between me and the Noah clan, but whenever I tried to pry the answers out from him, I would receive the same excuse.

"'I'm doing it for your own good' my ass." I muttered angrily as I began walking with Tiedoll, Marie and Kanda to the waterways.

Ever since coming back to the Order after that conflict with the two Noah, Komui and I haven't exactly been on good terms…

~Flashback~

"Ah, Rosalie-chan. You made it. I'm so glad." Tiedoll greeted me as I sat down across from him on the cafeteria table.

I nodded slowly, curious of what he had to say. "Yes. Is something the matter?"

"Well, you see, I wanted to know if you'd like to join my unit." He explained as a small smile made its way onto his face. "I hear you can't control the full extent of your anti-akuma weapon and I'd be very glad to help you."

"I um…" I looked down at my wrists and frowned. It was somewhat true. The Innocence was somewhat under my control, but I had no clue of how to expand the capabilities of it. "Yes, you're right. But how would you be able to help me, Tiedoll-san?"

He laughed heartedly, "Please, just call me Tiedoll. You see, my job is to find new Exorcists and train them. What you probably need is someone to guide you and that's why I'm asking you if you would like to travel with me. You're free to refuse my offer, but I'm more than willing to help you so you can be strong and continue fighting."

I avoided his eyes as I thought back to the days prior when Allen and I were fighting and I wasn't strong enough to protect him. I turned back to Tiedoll with hard eyes and nodded with newfound determination.

"I…I'll join you." I bowed my head in appreciation. "Thank you, really."

"It's not a problem at all. We'll be leaving in a few days with Marie and Kanda, so make sure to be ready by then. You should go ahead and tell Komui you've decided to join us."

I nodded and headed over to Komui's office, but stopped right outside the door when I heard him and a few other familiar voices talking.

"We've no choice. I'm sorry, Allen, but we're sending you to the Asian Branch." It was Komui's voice and he sounded…regretful.

"I guess it can't be help. Are you really sure I'll be able to regain control of my Innocence there?" Allen's muffled voice asked.

"There's a higher probability of it reactivating there than here. Don't worry, the Asian Branch specializes with Innocence and all that. I've already informed them of the current situation." He paused. "Will you be okay with it, Allen?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to get my Innocence back."

"Okay, then." I heard him shuffle a few papers and clear his throat. "Lenalee-chan~, Lavi, Bookman, Krory and Miranda, you all will be accompanying Allen on his trip to the Asian Branch and from there, you will continue to look for Cross."

"How would we know where he is?" Lenalee demanded.

"Well, that's what Timcanpy is for." Komui assured her." After dropping Allen off, you'll use him to find Cross."

"Wait…why do we need to find him anyway?" Lavi questioned him quizzically. I could hear Komui sigh again.

"It seems as if the Millennium Earl is targeting the Generals, so we need to find them as fast as we can. That's why I've sent so many of you because General Cross has been missing for almost two years!"

"And he obviously wasn't in Switzerland…" Allen muttered in an annoyed tone.

"Hey…" Lavi began thoughtfully. "Why isn't Rose coming with us then?"

My head perked up at the sound of my name.

"Yeah, that's right. Why aren't you sending Rosalie-chan along with us?" Lenalee asked curiously. "She should come, right?"

"Ahhh…about that…" Komui began nervously. I peeked through the crack between the door and wall and saw Komui and Bookman exchange knowing glances with each other. "I asked Tiedoll if he would take her into his unit."

"Why?" Allen asked simply.

"Well…that is…"

"Because she does not need to go. It's as simple as that." Bookman explained and narrowed his eyes towards Komui, who nodded.

I couldn't take it anymore. I showed myself and marched straight towards where Komui and Bookman were standing. Everyone looked surprised to see that I was there, but I couldn't help but to notice that Komui seemed a little guilty.

"What do you mean I don't need to go?" I demanded while my lips curved into a hard frown.

No one said anything and I only had my eyes set on Komui and Bookman while avoiding everyone else's gaze.

"I said, what do you –"

"Rosalie…" Komui said seriously. "You'll be…_safer_ with Tiedoll."

"What?" I demanded, though my voice was barely over a whisper.

"You are a target of the Noah clan. You're wanted by the Millennium Earl himself." Bookman informed me passively.

"But…but I should go!" I pleaded desperately as I balled my hands into fists. "It's my fault Allen's like this so it should only be right that I accompany him to the Asian Branch and –"

I felt someone grab me gently by the shoulders. I turned my head sideways to see Lenalee smiling sadly at me. "Rosalie-chan, please stop blaming yourself for what happened."

Allen nodded in agreement. "She's right, Rose. We've already talked about it. Come on, don't do this anymore…"

I looked at him and frowned. I nodded reluctantly before turning back to Komui. "But still…I should go. I'll do my best!"

Komui shook his head. "Rosalie, I'm sorry to say this, but it'll only be more trouble if you go with them."

I stared at Komui in disbelief and I could feel my eyes starting to water again. Why did it always seem like I was crying lately? It got on my nerves.

"But…why?"

"Between escorting Allen to the Asian Branch and mostly likely fighting akuma along the way, it'll only be worse if they have to encounter anyone from the Noah Family." Komui told me in that regretful tone I heard from earlier.

"K-Komui…san…" His name escaped my lips in a low, harsh tone.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Bookman nudge Lavi in the side. I heard him let out a weary sigh before he started walking over towards me. I didn't bother to look at him until I felt his hands on my shoulders to turn me around. Reluctantly, I looked up to meet his gaze to see him smiling at me.

"We'll be alright, Rose!" He said cheerfully, although considering what he told me about the 'rules of being a Bookman' business, it made me wonder if it was a façade or not. "And besides, you said you wanted to be stronger, right?" Lavi added with a more serious edge to his voice.

I attempted to glare at him, but the attempt was futile as the memories of us kept flooding back into my mind. I just couldn't be mad at him, even if I tried.

"O…kay…" I finally replied. "Just be safe."

He grinned widely and ruffled my hair. "Don't worry, we will! We're tough, remember?"

I gave him a single nod and said my goodbyes before leaving the room. If I could, I would've asked Lavi to stay, but the possibility of that idea was far off…

~Flashback End~

I stared outside the window watching the blue and green blurry scenery. The train ride was overall silent with the exception of Tiedoll's scribbling in his sketchpad. There were so many questions running through my mind. It felt like I was about to overflow in a sea of memories. However, they were scattered memories that were missing pieces to complete it. So far, the strongest and most familiar memory that I had was Lavi, or apparently Flame as I used to call him, being there with me everyday after I started school. When I tried to recall the other memories, I would only see bits and pieces of it. Somehow, I had a feeling Road was behind it. If she could send messages through dreams, I'm sure she could've kept my memories from me as well.

But for now, I decided to hold on to the memories of Lavi. For some reason, it just gave me a sense of security. There was no denying that I wish Lavi was there with me…

"Rosalie-chan."

I brought my head up and came face-to-face with a sketchpad.

"It's of Yu-kun. Didn't I do a good job?" Tiedoll smiled proudly as he showed me a pencil drawing of Kanda staring outside the window arms crossed and everything. It looked very accurate right down to his glare.

I nodded and managed a small smile for my new mentor. "Yes. It's lovely."

Beside me, I could see Kanda gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists as he tried to suppress his anger.

"Don't worry, Kanda. You know that's just how he is." Marie explained calmly.

Kanda turned away. "Che."

I couldn't help but to laugh, despite Kanda's anger. "Oh, nii-san. I think it was very nice of Tiedoll to draw that of you!"

He didn't seem to enjoy my teasing at all and turned to glower at me. "Didn't I tell you _not_ to call me that?" He barked.

"Relax, Yu-kun!" Tiedoll chuckled before pulling out another notebook. He flipped through a few pages that turned out to be all of Kanda. And of course, Kanda wasn't smiling in either of them. "See, I have a lot of pictures of you already! Your hair is difficult to draw, though."

I could've sworn a vein was about to pop on Kanda's head…

"Don't draw any more pictures of me without my permission!" Kanda yelled loudly before falling silent again.

Tiedoll and I exchanged glances and he shrugged his shoulders.

"So I should ask you first?"

Kanda didn't say anything that time. I smiled nervously and started to shuffle my feet. Being with Kanda, Tiedoll and Marie was much more different than being with the other Exorcists. But in a way, it was comforting. After a few minutes of silence, I finally decided to voice my thoughts regarding our unit.

"Tiedoll, where exactly are we going? And what are we going to do? And how are you going to be able to help me train?" I inquired.

He laughed and mistook my curiosity for eagerness. "One question at a time, Rosalie-chan. First, we're going to meet up with one of my other students, Daisya Barry. Then we'll be able to get your training in. Sound good?"

I nodded before continuing to gaze out of the window.

'_I wonder how Lavi, Allen and the others are doing…'_

**The Noahs' P.O.V.**

"It seems as if we've run into a standstill." The Millennium Earl informed his fellow Noah members.

Tyki sighed in annoyance and flicked his cigarette bud at Lero. "Man, this is all just a big nuisance…"

"We should just kill them, hii~" Jasdero shouted out excitedly, pointing his gun up in assurance.

"Yeah, those damn Exorcists piss me off anyway!" Devit exclaimed as he pounded a fist on the table to emphasize his anger.

"Calm down, Jasdevi." The Millennium Earl said wearily. "You'll get to kill Exorcists. I can assure you that. But there is one Exorcist I want _alive._"

Road stepped out from behind his large chair with a frown shaping her lips. "Rosie-chan…"

"Huh?" Skinn Bolic mumbled after swallowing a huge spoonful of his sundae. "Who's that? She sounds sweet. Why can't we kill her?"

Lulu Bell merely nodded in agreement from the other side of the table.

"Yeah, you just said we could kill the Exorcists!" Devit yelled.

Jasdero continued to wave his gun in the air. "And she's an Exoricst, hii~"

Road growled and shouted over everyone's commotion. "Shut up!"

She immediately got their attention and all eyes were on her. She made eye contact with everyone before taking her seat next to the Earl. She and Tyki exchanged knowing glances with each other before she nodded and cleared her throat to announce the information.

"You all remember the fifteenth, right? The Noah of Creation?" She inquired, glaring hard at the table. Frustration was written all over her face. It seemed as if talking about the subject was enough to upset her.

"I hardly remember him, hii~" Jasdero said in his usual playful tone.

"I thought the fifteenth died before he could even join us." Devit pointed out.

"_She _did die. In a way." Road explained in an annoyed tone. "She was the first to become the fifteenth, but her Noah side was completely destroyed before she could even acknowledge it. Now she's just a regular human." She gritted her teeth and growled. "No, she's worse than a human. She's an Exorcist."

"Then why can't we kill her, hii~" Jasdero demanded.

"Because, _idiot,_" Tyki began. "The Earl is convinced we can still use her to help us create a new arc along with Road."

Lulu Bell finally spoke up. "And how can she do that if she's no longer a Noah?"

"She still possesses the same powers she had during her short life as a Noah. Except now, she has it in the form of Innocence." The Millinnium Earl explained as he twirled Lero around.

"But I thought Innocence wasn't good for us." Skinn pointed out. "It's not sweet."

"She's an exception though. Her Innocence is different from the others." The Earl replied. "It's not the Heart, but it's enough to create us a new arc."

"Did this girl know she was a Noah?" Lulu Bell asked indifferently.

Road shut her eyes and shook her head. "No…she didn't know anything. Her father tried to hide it from her, but I took care of that. He _is _the reason why she's not with us."

"Oh? And why's that?" Tyki asked curiously.

"You'll see. Once we find Rosie-chan again, I'll let her see the rest of her memories and she'll definitely leave the Order and join us."

"And if that doesn't work…" Tyki added with a mischievous grin. "I can always convince her otherwise…" He said as he summoned his flesh-eating golems, Teez.

"Wait! We wanna kill her!" Jasdero and Devit shouted in unison.

"We're not going to kill her." Road told them. "Not yet, anyway. And if anyone's going to kill Rosie-chan, it's going to be me…"

"I can't tell if you like that girl or hate her." Tyki muttered.

"Okay, then." The Millennium Earl announced. "You all know which Exorcist _not _to kill, so I'll leave you to your duties." He turned to Road and Tyki. "And you two know how to lure the…_previous _fifteenth out."

They nodded and everyone got up to start on their assassinations.

And unbeknownst to Rosalie and Cross, the search for them has officially begun…

* * *

**Stella: Yeah, I know with what Road is saying seems like just a bunch of random plot holes, but trust me, they're not! I definitely know what I'm doing for the next chapter though...but I need to think of an ending for this story. I plan to end it at chapter 30 or something...**

**Rose: Aww, don't talk about the ending already!**

**Lavi: Yeah, I don't want this to end! I need to shine!**

**Allen: Stupid Lavi...**

**Stella: Ahh, Allen! I've missed you, hii~**

**Allen: You're talking like Jasdero...**

**Stella: Oh yeah! About him. I had to look at episodes to see how he talked. He ended almost every sentence with "hii~" in the Jap. version like how Lavi ends his sentences with "-sa!" So I just thought that'd be...interesting. xD**

**Lavi: Well, please review since Stella-chan hasn't written about this in forever! **

**Stella: Yes, please please review. Mostly because I need some input for this story. (Cause I need something interesting) And I will love you forever!**


	16. The Truth Behind Lies

**Stella: So I started this like, almost a month ago! And I worked really hard yesterday and today to finish it! I've missed this story, but do people still even read it...? I don't know if I should continue it, rewrite it or what! I've been dead on this site lately...**

**Well, I love/hate this chapter. You'll see what I mean. **

**And I apologize ahead of time for Road's OOCness. It's been a while since I've read or watched D. Gray-Man. I'm still anxiously waiting for the new chapter!**

* * *

**Cross's Unit POV**

As soon as the team of Exorcists assigned to locate General Cross arrived at Asian Headquarters, they were greeted by the Branch Head, Bak Chang, and his assistant, Sammo Han Won.

"We'll take care of Walker from here." Bak informed them, but not before stealing a glance at Lenalee, who didn't seem to notice him at all. His cheeks turned slightly pink, but he recomposed himself when felt the stares of the other Exorcists. "Please say your final goodbyes before parting ways."

Lenalee was the first to step up.

"Allen-kun…Allen-kun, I…" She could hardly finish whatever it was she had to say, as tears began to well up in the corner of her dark purple eyes.

Allen forced a smile and placed his only hand on Lenalee's shoulder. "It's okay, Lenalee. I'll regain my Innocence and once I do, I'll come find you." He turned to the rest of the group. "I promise, I'll catch up with you guys! So don't worry about me."

Miranda fought back her tears as she ran up to Allen and held his hand. "Please, Allen. Come back to us soon."

He nodded. "I will."

"I know you'll get your Innocence back." Krory told him.

"Yeah, don't hold back on your promise moyashi!" Lavi chuckled, a grin making its way onto his face.

A small laugh escaped from Allen's lips as he replied, "It's Allen, baka Lavi. And I won't. Now go already. I'll be fine."

They all nodded and left Allen with Bak to head back towards the ship. Allen watched until the ship was out of view before he turned around and followed the Branch Head and his assistant to Asian Headquarters. His smile was long gone and replaced with a frown. He shook his head and looked up to the sky in newfound determination.

"I must keep walking. For my sake and everyone else's…" Allen told himself .

Back on the ship, everyone decided to keep to themselves for the time being. It was different without Allen around and no one was exactly sure whether or not he would really get his Innocence back.

"Lenalee." Lavi called after the Chinese Exorcist who was standing by herself on the upper deck. She looked as if she just finished crying.

"Oh, Lavi." She quickly wiped her eyes and forced a smile. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head and looked at her seriously. "Nah, I'm fine. But what about you? I know you're worried about Allen, but worrying won't get you anywhere, will it?"

She sighed and placed her arms on the railing of the ship. "No, I guess not. Allen-kun's not the only one I'm worried about though. There's also Rosalie-chan…"

Lavi forced a smile, but thinking about Rose was something he tried to avoid. It frustrated him that he couldn't recall his past with her. He could remember everything else _except _her. He didn't dare asking the old panda about it. That would probably earn him a swift kick in the gut. Bookman seemed so keen on _hiding _everything from Lavi anyway, so he decided he would just figure out his past by himself.

He cleared his throat and replied halfheartedly, "I'm sure she's fine…"

**Rose's P.O.V.**

Three long weeks have stretched by since leaving the Black Order with Tiedoll, Kanda and Marie. We were actually supposed to meet up with Daiysa a week ago, but Tiedoll had the tendency to draw every piece of scenery we happened to pass by. And since he told me we would begin training after we met up with Daiysa, that meant that out of these three weeks, I've had no training at all. Seriously, he wasted an extra week painting while he could've been training me. But thanks to Marie's calming words, I wasn't that upset. At least I didn't have a temper like Kanda's or I would go crazy!

"Ah, we're finally here." Tiedoll announced, interrupting my thoughts. He got up from his seat and began walking towards the door of the train with Kanda, Marie and I following suit.

I took in the complete change of scenery. We _were _on the train for an extremely long time, I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that we were in a different country…or maybe continent. As I took in the strange faces of the civilians walking pass, I noticed something.

"Are we…in China?" I wondered aloud. The people around us all had the same, familiar hair skin complexion as Lenalee and Komui.

Tiedoll nodded and smiled proudly. "I'm glad you noticed, Rosalie-chan. Yes, we are in China. Daisya should be close by. Let's go look for him."

We followed Tiedoll, stopping every once in a while so that he could draw or paint something he found interesting.

I took a seat down on the grassy field as Tiedoll finished whatever it was he was drawing. My ears picked up the sound of a faint chime and in the corner of my eye, I saw a few kids playing soccer. One of the kids looked taller than the rest with a strikingly familiar jacket and a pointed hood. I blinked a few times before noticing the Rose Cross on his coat.

I looked over to see if anyone else noticed the young man. Tiedoll was distracted by his drawings, Kanda was meditating and Marie was enjoying a nap. Reluctantly, I got up and went to approach the guy to affirm whether or not he was Daisya Barry.

"Hey!" I called out, but failed to get his attention. From what I could tell, he was really good at soccer. He looked pretty average with his spiky, brown hair but the makeup around his eyes made him stand out from the rest of the kids. One other thing I noticed was a bell hanging from his pointed hood.

"Daisya…Barry…?" I questioned unsurely. It wasn't until I called his name that he finally looked up at me. He furrowed his eyebrows at me for a second, before looking me up and down to realize that I had a matching Exorcist uniform.

"You must be in the Tiedoll unit, huh?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Where is he?"

I pursed my lips together and pointed my head towards him. "D-drawing…" I admitted a little sheepishly.

A low chuckle escaped his lips. "That old man never changes. Well, better not keep him waiting any longer." He began walking towards Tiedoll with me following closely behind. "Although, he was the one keeping _me_ waiting. I thought you were supposed to be here a week ago!"

I could feel my face was heating up. It was a bit embarrassing to be late due to Tiedoll's drawing habits. "Yes. Well, you can talk to him about that."

Before we reached Tiedoll, a smile was already formed on his face as he beamed at us. He finally put his pencil and paper down and stood up to greet Daisya with an overjoyed smile. Once Daiysa and I approached him, he immediately flung his arms around Daisya with overbearing strength and overdramatic tears streaming down his face. Tiedoll sure was…something.

"Daisya! I'm so glad we've finally found you!" Tiedoll cried out happily.

Daisya pushed Tiedoll away gently and crossed his arms. "Yeah, it took you long enough, you old geezer."

Tiedoll chuckled and ruffled Daiysa's hair playfully. "Oh, you're still the same old Daiysa."

My eyes darted between the two and I tapped my foot a little impatiently. "Not to interrupt the moment, but since Daiysa's with us, does this mean you can train me now?"

Tiedoll broke his gaze from Daisya and turned it towards me. "Oh…Rosalie, I'm sorry. I forgot you were there."

I blinked a few times before face-faulting to the ground. "You can't be serious…" I muttered underneath my breath. Daiysa chuckled and I could hear Kanda "che" from the spot he was meditating in. After regaining myself, I gave Tiedoll a sneer, but it soon faded as he continued to smile at us.

"But yes, we can begin your training now." He told me.

"Yes! Finally!" I cheered and grabbed his arm to go to the nearest water fountain! "Let's start with water! Yes, I'm so excited!"

**Noah's POV**

"When are we going to confront them? I'm tired of waiting." Tyki complained as he glanced over to Road, Jasdero and Devit. He inhaled the last of his cigarette before tossing it aside with a frustrated expression clear on his face. As each moment passed, Tyki grew more and more impatient. His "dark" side was getting to its peak since he laid his eyes on Rose. Ever since that encounter with her and Allen, he wanted nothing but to her heart out. But he would have to restrain himself, as the Millennium Earl wanted her _alive. _

"We still have to wait a bit, Tyki. I have to make sure Rosie-chan is ready." Road explained as they watched Rose and Tiedoll train from a nearby tree.

The Noah twins loaded their guns up and aimed for the two Exorcists.

"Waiting's no fun, hii~" Jasdero said from beside Road who replied by rolling her eyes.

"Don't you dare go down there, you idiots." Road warned rather threateningly. She gave them a glare that could kill, shutting them up immediately.

"Are you going to show her?" Tyki asked in a low voice.

Road smiled her familiar sickly smile. "I'll show her soon. Trust me, it'll be worth it after seeing the look on her face." She started giggling uncontrollably, causing her to receive confused looks from the Noah twins. Tyki clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh." He cautioned as his amber eyes bore onto a familiar curly-haired Exorcist trying to control the movement of the water in the fountain, but to no avail.

"What am I doing wrong?" He heard Rose ask her mentor. "I don't quite understand what I'm supposed to do…"

"Just believe and keep trying. That's all you really can do." Tiedoll replied in a gentle tone as he tried to encourage his student.

Rose sighed and began waving her arms around again.

Tyki glanced over at Road, who was staring intently at Rose as if she was trying to read her mind. None of the other Noah members, except the Earl, were exactly sure why Road was so attached to Rose. She was attached to Rose almost as much as she was to Allen. But none of them dared to ask her or the Earl, so they left it at that.

Road's lips began to curve upwards as she watched Tiedoll leave Rose to practice by herself for a little bit. She turned to her three comrades and winked, before jumping back through a familiar checkered door. She motioned for them to follow her.

Rosalie attempted to control the water one more time. She closed her eyes, raised her arms up high above her head and concentrated as hard as she could.

"Okay, Rose…you can do this…" She told herself and slowly reopened her eyes. "Ahhh!"

A hand suddenly reached out of the water fountain and grabbed her by her collar before dragging her down through a door at the bottom of the fountain. Rose struggled desperately to pry whosever hand it was off of her, but the grip was too strong. She could already feel the oxygen escape her lungs, but before she react, she already found herself in a strange dining room. It was dark and there was a long, single table with more than enough chairs for a large family.

Rose blinked and adjusted her eyes to the sudden darkness. Her eyes narrowed as soon as she heard a high pitched giggle.

"Rosie-chan, I've missed you!" Road cheered and ran to wrap her arms around Rose's neck affectionately.

Rose involuntarily blushed from the close contact, but she was more annoyed than flustered at the moment. Annoyed and confused. Why was Road acting this way towards her? Didn't she try to kill her last time they confronted each other? What was with the sudden change of attitude?

She shoved Road gently off of her and glared at the Noah. "What do you want from me this time?" Rose knew she didn't have the strength to fight Road by herself, so she wanted to avoid violence at all cost.

"It's simple. I still want you to come with us." She replied.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows and took a second to think about her current situation. She already knew there was no way out of this. One, she was already in their abode. Two, even if she could manage to fend off Road for a little bit, there was definitely the possibility of other Noah members showing up. And three, apparently Road knew everything there was to know about her.

As if she read her mind, Road placed a reassuring hand on Rose's shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you, Rosie-chan. _We _aren't going to hurt you."

Before Rose could even wonder who she meant by "we," Tyki, Jasdero and Devit appeared from the shadows.

"But if you don't come with us, we'll hurt your Exorcist friends." Devit told her with a sly grin.

"W-what?" Rose stammered, "T-that's….that's not fair!" She shouted, remembering the mission that cost Allen his arm.

"Well," Tyki began indifferently, "Life's not fair, now is it?"

Rose gritted her teeth at the sound of his voice. She instantly replayed her and Allen's encounter with him in her mind and his merciless acts of cruelty towards them. She couldn't forget how he ripped his heart off and still had a smile plastered on his face the whole time.

"Please don't be mad, Rosie-chan." Road said apologetically. It almost sounded genuine, but Rose knew better.

"What good would it do if I joined you?" Rose asked unsurely.

"This is taking too long, hii~" Jasdero interjected and he and Devit pointed their guns at Rose. "Just say yes already or we'll shoot, hii~"

"Knock it off!" Road yelled and whacked each twin across the head. She turned back to Rose and smiled her usual smile. She knew exactly what to say to Rose to convince her, but she needed to make sure that no idiots would mess up her plan.

"Rosie-chan…"

Rose blinked and tilted her head, still trying to figure why Road was acting so…_nice _towards her.

"What?"

"How's…how's _Lavi_ doing?" She inquired, her smile growing wider as she looked at the shocked Rose.

Rose didn't say anything. In truth, she didn't _know_ what to say! She tried not to think about Lavi much, but it pained her to do so. She was the only one between the two of them to recall a few memories back from their past and the fact that Lavi couldn't recall them was killing her. It made her feel alone and empty. If only Lavi could remember them, too. Weren't Bookmen supposed to remember everything?

"He's…fine." She finally managed to say, despite the new lump in her throat.

Road knew she found Rose's weak spot and she wasn't going to stop until Rose complied.

"Don't you want to know the truth?" Road asked seriously this time. Tyki, Jasdero and Devit looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was planning next.

Rose _was _desperate for answers, but not if it meant hurting other people. It was true Komui and Bookman were hiding something from her, but if they were so willing to keep it from her that must have meant that it was for her own good. But deep in the crevice of her mind, Rose wanted nothing more but to know about her hidden past.

"It doesn't just involve you and the Bookman apprentice. It involves us, the Noah Family, and your father, Cassian Hinode."

"What do you know about my father?!" Rose hollered, not even bothering to hide her anger. She knew Road was trying to insinuate something, but what? Did Road know the same secrets about her father that Komui and Bookman were keeping from her as well?

"I know your father despised us."

"What do you mean?"

"You'd be better off not knowing." She paused and looked at Rose with a sly expression, "But do you _want _to know?

_"You'd be better off not knowing…" _Those were Komui's exact words to Rose after she found her father's diary lying on his desk.

Rose already had the feeling of uncertainty lingering over her. She could predict that whatever information Road had, whether it was true or false, couldn't be anything good. But…this was what she wanted, right?

She gulped and took a deep breath, "Tell me." She uttered, although barely audible.

Road smirked, knowing she succeeded with her plan. She shooed away Tyki, Jasdero and Devit and they left, grumbling angrily under their breaths.

"Cassian Hinode," Road giggled, much to Rose's annoyance. "Wow, was he something!"

"Get to the point already." Rose muttered impatiently.

"Like I said, he despised us. He probably hated us more than any other Exorcist out there."

Rose stared blankly at the girl in front of her, curious of what else she had to say. For some reason, it didn't seem like she was lying and that's what was beginning to scare Rose. Could she handle knowing the truth after all this time or would it destroy her?

"Rosalie," Road began in an unusually serious tone. "Your father would stop at nothing until he destroyed the Noahs, much like Neah." She took note of Rose's confused facial expression. "You'll know about him sooner or later. But he hated us, Rosalie. Because of what we did and because of who we are."

"But…Noahs and Exorcists are supposed to be enemies." Rose pointed out unsurely. She began twiddling with her hair nervously, her light green eyes never leaving Road's amber ones. "Why is it such a big deal if he, you know, wanted to kill…you guys…" She mumbled, her voice getting lower and lower.

"Even if it meant killing his own daughter?" She said, taking note of Rose's widened eyes.

Rose's breath hitched in her throat, her chest began to tighten up and her hands were starting to get moist. She was definitely at a loss of words. Nothing seemed to formulate correctly in her mind and the feeling of doubt was undoubtedly overtaking her.

Rose took a deep breath and barely managed to find the voice to speak. "What do you mean?"

Road stepped closer until she was standing directly in front of the shaking Exorcist. She smiled sadly at her, but nodded her head. "Rather than telling you, how about I show you?" She gestured to the door that appeared from the ground behind her. Without asking for permission, she took Rose's hand and led her through it.

~Flashback~

It was a memory. But it wasn't Rosalie's memory; it was Road's.

"No, stop! What're you doing with her?! Give her back to me!" A woman's voice cried. Rose glanced at the woman from her and Road's aerial view and instantly recognized her as Kaname Hinode; her mother.

"Where are we?" Rose asked the Noah with a trembling voice.

"In my sub-consciousness. This is my first memory of you, Rosie-chan. We were all excited that you would finally get to join us! I was especially excited, so I had to see you when you first woke up." She answered, smiling as she reminisced.

Rose brought her eyes back down to the scene below her. It seemed to be some sort of hospital room. Rose's mother must've just gotten through labor and gave birth to her, but it seemed as if something wasn't right…

"I'm sorry, Kaname." It was her father's voice that spoke. "We knew this was going to happen. The Earl himself warned me, but I refused to believe him." He glanced at the infant Rose in Kaname's arms, sleeping peacefully. "I know she's our first child, but what good is she if she's a member of the Noah clan?"

Those words hit Rose like a ton of bricks. Her heart felt heavy and the world seemed to stop revolving. It was as if the blood running in her veins was beginning to ice over, but instead of the cold, numbing feeling, it burned terribly.

"Me…a member of the N-Noah clan?" She whispered to herself, unable to believe the very thought of it.

Road glanced at her, and pointed back down to the scene below her.

A few seconds later, the infant Rose began to cry and her skin turned from its fairly light complexion to a darkened one, her brown curtain of curly hair to a blackish-blue and her light green eyes to an amber.

"Who cares if she's a Noah?!" Kaname cried out desperately, clutching Rose tightly to her chest. "She's still our daughter, dammit! What's wrong with you, Cassian?!"

He sighed and ran a hand through his dark chocolate colored hair. His azure eyes met Kaname's jade eyes with great intensity. Slowly, he placed a soft kiss on his wife's lips and picked up Rose gently into his arms. Every single time she reverted to her Noah form, his feelings for his daughter turned into disgust. He couldn't find it within himself to hate her, but with what she was, he couldn't exactly love her either.

"I was ordered by the higher-ups to exterminate my only daughter if she turned out to be one of them." He murmured in a grave tone. "I won't disobey them, but there is one option." He fished into his pocket and pulled out a hypodermic needle. The substance inside gave off a shiny green, luminescent glow.

"Is that…Innocence?" Kaname asked even though she was sure it was. "Where did you get that?"

"Cross Marian." He replied bluntly. "How he comes up with this kind of thing, I have no clue."

"What's going to happen if you inject her with it?"

"I'm not exactly sure of the details myself. Either it will suppress and/or destroy the Noah gene within her or…"

"Or…?" Kaname pressed.

Cassian gulped and gave his wife a saddened expression. "Or kill her."

Kaname stared at him in disbelief and began to shake her head feverishly. "No, we can't risk it! We can't! Please, Cassian. I don't want to lose our daughter."

"I'm sorry, Kaname. Either way, if it doesn't work she will have to die. She's a Noah, which means she's an enemy to the Black Order."

Kaname opened her mouth to say something, but she knew arguing any further would be futile. "Will this really work?" She questioned in a barely audible tone.

Cassian hesitated. He looked into his crying daughter's amber eyes and noticed a small speck of jade green within them.

"Yes."

"But – "

Before she could say another word, Cassian took the needle and injected it right over Rose's heart. She began crying louder, her cries turning into high pitched screeches. Her small body began to tremble uncontrollably and her breathing turned into fast, uneven pants. The air whipped around her in a mini tornado causing the papers and blankets to whirl around the room.

Her parents enveloped her in their arms and prayed to whatever God was out there that she would make it through.

"I know you're a strong girl, Rosalie. You can do this!" Kaname muttered, holding her and her husband close.

"Please, Rose…" Cassian said, stroking his daughter's forehead soothingly.

As quick as the trembling and screams came, they stopped. Rose's hair was back to its original color, as well as her eyes and skin. The skin over Rose's heart was glowing green, fading and reappearing with the familiar rhythm of her heart. When the light began to fade, Rose fell asleep again. The wind died down, but the small hospital room was already wrecked.

Kaname began shedding tears of joy as she picked her daughter up and spread soft kisses across her face.

"Oh, Rosalie…" She cooed.

Cassian breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…"

~Flashback end~

There were back in the dining room, but the atmosphere around them was tense.

"See what I mean? You're his daughter, but he would've still killed you if that little trick of his didn't work." Road said a matter-of-factly.

Rose's eyes lacked any emotion and she ran that memory through her head again.

"It didn't exactly _seem_ like he wanted to…k-kill me…" She replied meekly.

"He was only relieved because you didn't turn out like us. If you were still a Noah, he wouldn't even look at you!" Road shouted angrily. "How dare he do that to you! You…you were supposed to be with _us._" She added, with a slightly sad edge to her voice. "We're your real family."

Rose shook her head, refusing to believe anything else. "You're wrong! Dad loved me!"

"Stop being so naïve, Rosie-chan. Your dad would've _killed_ you! Get that through your head already!"

Rose took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She averted her eyes from Road to the ground, trying to comprehend everything. She couldn't deny it anymore. No matter how much she kept telling herself that it wasn't true, it _was _true. Her father really hated the Noahs. Her father must've hated _her _during her brief time being a Noah. At least that's what she believed.

Wait a second.

Rosalie was…a Noah…

"I was a Noah…" She said to herself.

Road nodded and smiled her sickly-sweet smile. "Yes, the fifteenth. The Noah of Creation. But apparently to the dumb Order, you're the Creator of Earth now. They totally stole that title from us!" She whined childishly.

"Answer a few questions for me, okay?" Rose ordered, still in shock from the information she just uncovered.

"Kay~"

"How come I didn't die that day I was injected with Innocence?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know about that. You must've had a strong will to live or something. Actually, the Earl is still trying to figure that out."

"Why am I able to use the anti-akuma weapon I have?"

"Because as the Noah of Creation, you had similar abilities to manipulate the elements, so of course you were the only one that could use them. I mean, even though you weren't able to use them _before_ you turned into a regular human, those are still your powers."

"Why is the Order hiding this from me?"

"Isn't it obvious? They don't want you to leave them. The Order is running low on Exorcists these days."

Rose shook her head at the bitter truth. She's been fooled her whole life. From the time she was born until that very moment. What else was there to know? How did Lavi and Bookman come into play in all this?

"I'll tell you more, you know. Everything you want to know."

"Why do you know everything? You're the Noah of Dreams, not the Noah of Memories or something." Rose snorted, but gasped after she realized what she just said. Road never told her she was the Noah of Dreams. The only way she could've known that was…

Road smirked, feeling pretty satisfied. "Well, that's interesting. It seems as if your Noah gene isn't completely destroyed."

Fury overtook Rose as she ran and reran the information in her head. One, she used to be a Noah. Two, her father tried to kill her if he wouldn't be able to suppress her Noah gene. Three, Komui only hid the truth from her because the Order needed more forces. And four, she was beginning to doubt the Black Order with every ounce of her body.

"What about Lavi – "

"Rosie-chan, I'll tell you _everything_. If only you'll join us." She looked at Rose, waiting for her to answer. When she didn't answer, she added, "You can trust the Bookman apprentice. He was just a kid back then."

Road didn't understand, but she knew Road wasn't lying to her. It seemed as if she and Road formed a bond somehow, and it allowed her to tell if Road was lying to her or not. But this whole time, Road was telling her the truth.

"Road, why did you tell me all this?"

"Hmm?" Road tilted her head in confusion. "I asked if you wanted to know, and you said yes~"

"Right. I did say that, didn't I?" She mumbled lowly. Road glanced at her and noticed the emotions wiped clean from her face. She knew Rose was still going through shock, but it was to be expected, especially if she wanted her plan to work.

"Well, I see you're still having a hard time deciding. Tell you what, I'll give you a month to think about it. That way, you can train and learn more about yourself! I'll bring Tyki and Jasdevi with me too, so look out for us!" She told Rose sweetly before pushing through the door that appeared in front of her.

Rose stumbled through and with no time wasted, she ended back by the water fountain as if she never left.

"Oi, curly! Quit standing there. It's time to go." Kanda barked from in front of her. Her eyes met his with obvious animosity to them. He furrowed his eyebrows for a second, but waved it off. He'd never seen her eyes have such a dark aura to them, but he figured she was frustrated that she couldn't control her Innocence better or something.

"Are you okay, Rosalie-chan?" Tiedoll asked her, oblivious to the previous events that just took place.

"Yes," She lied, mustering up the best fake smile she could. "I'm perfectly fine."

* * *

**Stella: Ackk, the OOCness is killing me! But sorry for not updating soon! Now I gotta work on my Zelda story!**

**Lavi: You've been so lazy, Stella-chan! And I'm hardly in this chapter!**

**Stella: Lazy, busy and unmotivated is more like it. :P I've been writing for fos-ff lately hehe. And watching Naruto!**

**Rose: ...**

**Lavi: What's wrong with Rose?**

**Stella: Ah, yes. Rose's personality will start to change from here on out. She'll finally kick ass! (Maybe) Haha, or be an asshole. Or badass. Who knowwwsss~**

**Road: Yay, Rosie-chan~**

**Stella: Gah, you don't know how hard it was to write "Road" instead of "Rose" or vice versa. But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It's definitely longer than my other ones. I'm going to try to keep the limit of my chapter lengths to 3000 words or less next time.**

**And thanks for everyone that reviewed the last chapter! Sorry to make you wait! Er, if any _is _still waiting that is. Seriously, do people still read this? Ahah, well until next time!**


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